Enter Naruto Uzumaki: The Origami Princess!
by MissEvolutionist
Summary: Fūinjutsu, known as the art of Sealing things away. On the day of her birth, Naruto had something more than the Nine Tails sealed. "Minato was always such a little shit. You being forced to suffer life alone, he of course had to give a gift." Pretty inappropriate sometimes. Listed as Naruto and Naruko since it's technically FEMNaru, so no OC sibs. Eventual NaruKaka, some SasuNaru.
1. Chapter 1

Enter Naruto Uzumaki: The Origami Princess!

Fuinjutsu, known as the art of sealing things away. On the day of her birth, Naruto had something more than the Nine Tails sealed. "Minato was always such a little shit. You being forced to suffer through life alone, he of course had to give a gift."

Rated M, eventual KakaNaru, some SasuNaru.

Listed as Naruto and Naruko since it's technically FemNaruto, but there's no OC siblings.

 **I don't own Naruto!**

* * *

The number nine is the highest single digit.

In the growing Hidden Village of the Leaves, they were still recovering like its sibling Shinobi Villages, five years later. Damaged buildings were upgraded, removed, or renovated to hold the still new coming citizens. Unlike the other villages, it wasn't the opposition in the Third Shinobi War that landed the last blow and allowed hate to manifest in Konoha's villagers - it was just the attack and sealing of the nine tailed fox.

Being the oldest and most famous village outside of civilian life, it was said to be the most deserving that they dealt with the worse of the situations.

Only a month after the war ended as tension was still high with few and few casualties, Minato Namikaze was promoted to become the Fourth Hokage. Adored as the Yellow Flash for his helpful part in the war, the woman he had married in secret was already long pregnant and still fought in defense of the high walls when she was able to sneak away from her equally pregnant friend.

Three months after the war ended as attempts of agreements were made, Kushina Uzumaki gave birth. Unknowing to everyone of who the father was or the real reason she was formally invited to the village years before, the nine tailed fox escaped. Mostly rumored to have been seen by the eldest citizens in the time of the Shodaime Hokage, its existence was only ever confirmed by its weaker tails.

Looming over the village for hours as its tails was able to create earthquakes and brush off the attacks, only Minato Namikaze was able to defeat the beast by sealing it into his only child, Naruto.

His last request was for her to be seen as a hero, hopefully under the guise of a boy.

The villagers had no reason to see her as one.

As far as they knew, _he_ was a monster, a beast in human form who killed their beloved Yondaime and what was left of his family.

The cultures, region, and history are all different - but all the villages had scapegoats. In many of the ninja ran ones, jinchuriki's were the locals favorites to blame, look down upon, and harm. Purposely given the same last name as his mother to keep her safe from the enemies of the Yellow Flash, she looked too different for her mothers own to target her. Already shamed for her status and hidden in plain sight, she was only able to be placed inside one of the many filling orphanages where she would never be adopted, never defended and called them all besides what she simply was.

Special.

Children act on what they think they should do and what is needed to be done, and intelligence is knowing quite a bit of it is what adults protect them from. Naruto did what she thought she needed to do first: to be seen as something other than a target.

The anger she held and that grew at those around her was dulled during the visits of the reinstated Third Hokage, Hurizen Sarutobi. Taught how to properly read and speak other than the repetitive insults to turn around at others, she was five years old when she was explained what a prank was.

She will call it life changing and anger management, but Hurizen will call the moment afterward it instead.

Stopping by the orphanage to personally inspect its teachings and lodgings, he wanted it to end in a trip for ramen with Naruto. During supper where the other children were distracted, Naruto had a habit of gathering the toys the others weren't friendly enough to give up earlier and simply enjoyed eating all the left overs a hour later in secret.

So stepping over an especially large pile of blankets that blocked the door, he sat down for the final part of the inspection process - interviewing a tenant.

Left unknown during this time of what was going on in his office, an incident at the hospital of a failed system just a few days before was nearly resolved, only a glance over and multiple signatures for approval was needed in the end, so one of the many Chunin were sent to search for the Hokage. Not taking long, the high stack blocked his view as he walked into the room - and he stumbled onto his face as it all was thrown into the air.

Like a machine with one true purpose in life, if anybody had paid attention to her from that day on, they would realize that Naruto Uzumaki was beginning the process of growing up too fast.

Her thoughts and actions acted as if they were a freshly fallen bee nest.

Tracing and pressing, seemingly blank paper finely folded underneath otherwise clumsy fingers as her lips mouthed the directions silently. Eyes hypnotized as she finished a flapping origami bird, the hive had finally came together to act as one.

She was awoken from the trance mid-reach for a well written piece of paperwork by Hurizen. While he was impressed and concerned as the almost possessed look faded away from her large blue eyes, a pit in the bottom of his stomach had formed and would only grow with her.

With the sudden loud shouts of becoming Hokage and the continuous quiet mumbles of wanting a family, her fingers began twitching at the sight of all paper.

Hurizen knew that when she rose high from the status of a scapegoat, the number nine will be offered by hundreds to describe her genuine power.

* * *

 _Rewritten: 6/6/2017_


	2. I Will Defy You!

**Chapter 2: I will defy you!**

Ever since I was a child, I always had this twitch, urge, a itch, whenever I saw a paint brush or paper. It's ridiculous, I know.

Ojisan, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, seems to have tried passing it off. Talking about other stuff called polly-taxes or something instead, it started on an oh-so random day with a random invitation to get delicious ramen, and the urges have only gotten worse. As if I'm the foreign machinery made up of wires, buttons and metallic substances, as if all the commands that were properly sent down to my fingers only involved taking, folding, tracing, and creating.

I didn't ignore the urge some days, until I realized how destructive it was to everything around me. I would get my grubby hands on a piece of paper, and I don't wake up from the trance until everything is folded. People figured out it was me and now it just leaves a trail of evidence leading to me.

My favorite passing time of ignoring it and the stares, is pranking. My targets are everyone and anyone, made in vengeance and out of entertainment, boredom and practice. Ranked from D to S, they're ambushes from the start. Pranking is trapping, and I refuse to be caught in the real world.

So the teachers at the academy don't like me, so what? At least their lack of "sharing information" has taught me to gather it. I won't let their biased views stop me from doing anything, and now I can do so much more than they _let_ my classmates do. Running from the dispatched ANBU teams, outlasting them by hours in an orange jumpsuit after doing said prank _in_ it? Stamina and stealth.

Filling balloons and getting my victims? Aim training.

Innocent looking apples hollowed for paint and a small paper bomb, are assassination attempts in the real world.

Maybe it's good that I don't get the correct attention from anyone, 'cause then I wouldn't have realized that it's a dog eat dog world. Now, I'll be the comrade on the field, saving your life from a stray kunai, fitting the pieces of a puzzle, defending the weak from missing nin,

I didn't know until last night on why everyone hated me. All I wanted to be was noticed and recognized for something other than what I wasn't. Now I have the name, but it's not stopping me.

I still have a shit long way to go, being a big-name orphan, dressing like a boy, with an asshole fox in my gut and only books to remind me of what could've been.

* * *

 **3rd POV**

"..for the past 6 years, you all have been in and out of this classroom, learning only the basics for the long journey ahead of you in the path of a ninja. Today, it will all be put to the test. Good luck."

30 different children all sat at raised desks going upward in rows, each seat filled. Like every generation, the students were all unique in their abilities, though to the Academy teacher Iruka Umino, not all their talents didn't line up to the required skills to survive as a shinobi. With time however after teaching different ages, he noticed that more and more civilians were sending their children in. Only 8 in this class from any shinobi clan, and as he observed them, a violent twitch attacked his left eyebrow.

 _'Not even half a hour into your last class, and you two are already sleeping?_ ' The action being already memorized, Iruka had picked up the chalkboard eraser and threw it into the space between them, the clunk awakening them both at once.

Waving off the amused snort coming from his polar opposite co-worker, Iruka sat behind his desk as Mizuki Tsuki began to pass out the written test. While he had caramel skin with refined chocolate-like hair pulled into a spiky pony tail, Mizuki had a borderline sickly complexion with snow white hair reaching his chin. Best friends otherwise, it was relaxing to have someone to relate to at work.

Fiddling with the alarm as the air grew tense from the excited and dreading students, a nod was given from across the room as the white-haired man sat down on the stool in the back of the room.

Meant to prevent them all from cheating, Iruka turned the alarm around to face the class as he pressed start. "The alarm has been set to go off in one hour. You may begin now."

With that, each student almost simultaneously began their tests, the noise of pencils on paper filling the room. Using this time to hopefully make a dent in learning about his next class, he couldn't help but still observe the most famous students in this class: the 8 clan heirs.

 _'It's not as if forbidden knowledge, but it's obvious how all the teams are going to be set up, if everyone passes at least.'_ With a crinkle in his brow, he worriedly allowed his eyes to linger on his little sister figure, Naruto Uzumaki.

As an academy teacher of this batch, eyes always turned to him when something went wrong. Which, was actually frequently considering _who_ liked to cause most of the trouble.

Only 7 of clan heirs are formally acknowledged, but he was once in the position as the _orphaned dead last_. He understood the feeling, the thought process, and the need for attention. Yelling at the top of your lungs on how you're different from them because they just couldn't understand? His academy self would be disappointed at how he once treated her.

Container of the Kyuubi on the day of her birth and stuck to pretend to be a boy for her own safety, her pranks were vicious sometimes but her interactions with the others she desperately wanted to connect to proved Iruka was wrong about her, and he was happy to be.

With her tongue jutted out as her face was scrunched up in concentration, her fingers twitched randomly as she wrote her answers.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but you failed." His attempt to avoid seeing the heart broken expression failed and she ran out as the pale, single and sickly clone had already disappeared in weak smoke before

"Oh c'mon, Iruka. Couldn't have you let him pass this time? He at least created one and got higher results this year on everything else compared to his last two tests." The hopeful eyes of Mizuki fell immediately at his friends expression.

"I wanted to. He's come further than someone in his position has, but unless there were three sick ones.." Trailing off with a heavy sigh, he shook his head before calling out for Ino Yamanaka.

* * *

' _Why? Why couldn't I do it right? I did all of those stupid exercises for my fuckin' control and yet, and yet it didn't work!'_ Pushing herself off the tree branches she was tree hopping on, Naruto landed in the middle of a grassy clearing, holding a large scroll and a furious yet determined look. Roughly undoing the binding and allowing her large blue eyes sway back and forth for the information, a large mischievous grew from her lips.

 _'Whatever, I should at least get some of these right.'_

Like a sponge soaking up water, it only took minutes before the jutsu had been perfected and memorized, filling the tree with copies of herself that matched her loud cheering of excitement. Releasing them at once for a single echoing pop, Naruto fell backward onto the ground in dizziness as the short memories of hundreds flooded her mind. Digging her fingers into the grass as delirious pleasure ran goosebumps up her arms, the comparison to the academy's version sent her scrambling for the still open scroll.

 _'They send info and chakra back! What else is there that I can learn?_ ' Pawing it open further, Naruto continued reading, only for her heart to settle in the bottom of her stomach.

 _"Memorizu Shiru no Jutsu_

 _Typically placed on the back of the victims neck, it can effect the mind by preventing or withholding certain memories that the victim or sealer has personally experienced. Requires blood of the original holders memories, and will dry and appear as an average tattoo with the kanji for Nostalgic until released._

 _Can only be released with the blood of the original holders, Inu hand seal and its counter chant._

 _Watashi o wasurenaide kudasai."_

Dropping the scroll, Naruto leaned back onto her calves, legs folding beneath her. Slightly shaking with worries on what could be missing from her already lonely past that the hiding-gender plan was supposed to prevent, two shiny kunai were pulled from her pouch and she held one behind her head and the other angled above her eyes.

"Nostalgic."

Dropping one kunai in surprise as she held the other out defensively, it took a moment for her to realize it was an ANBU member who read the seal out loud.

His white mask was staring down at her, silver fluff wildly sticking out of it in all directions. Pocketing her kunai as he offered a hand to her, she took it and was spun out of her original place in the grass and onto her feet, pushed to stand behind him as several kunai struck her original position. Both turning to look at the new figure, failing to hide in the shadow, she clenched the mans' hand harder before releasing it in a panic at the newest realization.

 _'There is no other test,_ ' she thought as she took a slow step back. _'Mizuki-sensei tricked me into stealing something bigger.. and now I got ANBU on my ass for punishment.'_

"Uzumaki, run!"

Already planning for it, Naruto quickly took the scroll and launched herself into the trees. Only glancing back once as she made quick distance, she watched a crazed and buffed version of the teacher she had for years, attempt to overpower the elite shinobi. Turning forward with an oppressed sigh, she quickened her pace as silently as she could, holding the large scroll close to her.

Running until she couldn't hear the enraged shouts so close anymore, she swung herself down next to an abandoned cabin and wedged herself into the strengthen yet hollowed out door overhang. Hoping to hide until Mizuki was caught and she could hopefully explain that she was framed, she froze in place as she heard someone land nearby.

Listening to them tiptoe closer and closer, her body tensed up as she planned to kick them away and run once again, thinking of the several hiding places that Iruka couldn't even know about, their shout only sending her falling onto her stomach.

"Naruto!"

"Oww," she groaned in pain on the ground, rubbing her stomach as she pushed herself upright. Looking up to the ruffled and furious expression of her other sensei, she sighed in relief loudly as a small smile escaped at his appearance.

Being pulled to her feet once more properly, she watched as his hands found his hips before Iruka began his signature lecture. "What the hell have you done now? You stole the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing! Do you realize how much trouble you are even in?" Nodding along to his words, she cut him off before he could begin explaining said trouble.

"Yeah yeah, I know that _now._ It was Mizuki who told me that if I did a make up exam due to my lack of skill in genjutsu bullshit with my stamina and stealth, and learning a proper jutsu, that I could become genin." Wincing at how it all sounded to her now as Iruka's expression seeped into horror, she scratched at her head. "We should probably get going, 'cause an ANBU member found me before a weird version of Mizuki showed up."

Giving a slight nod before jumping into the tree, Naruto followed Iruka quietly into the direction of the village before a loud, animistic screech paused them in their tracks while they covered their ears. Trying to pin-point the source wildly, Naruto caught sight of the fast approaching Mizuki first.

Leaping on all fours as his chunin vest was missing and blue standard outfit was ripped, triangular stripes had grown onto his now exposed and insanely muscled arms. Shinobi sandals missing, claws were clearly growing from all his nails. Arms naturally outstretched to Iruka as unheard words left his moving mouth, she quickly pushed her brother figure out of the way and slapped her hands into her newly learned handsign.

"Taju Kage no Bunshin!"

Creating a smoke screen before thousands of versions of herself were revealed, Mizuki halted in his sprinting as the closest clone to him waved cheekily.

Allowing an excited tremor to shake her spine, all the Naruto's mischievously smiled at the corrupted man.

"The first lesson you ever taught to our class was that this was a mans world," she called out. Unzipping her orange jumpsuit jacket to reveal a black shirt with two lumps sticking out, she shrugged cooly as his eyes found her. "You did everything you could to prove that chicks will always be treated like dirt just 'cause we were born weaker. But am I strong enough for you yet, Mizuki-sensei!?"

As the smoke completely disappeared and the rest of the clones were found hanging off every tree, he quickly disappeared underneath the sea of orange with shouts of pain as the original sat back with her arms crossed, unknowing that Iruka was staring up at from the ground, impressed.

Giving a smile of his own, he jumped back onto the tree branch and tried to carefully whisper into her ear, as the sound of skin assaulting skin became louder and difficult to hear over. With a confused look, she did as she asked and turned to him, closing her eyes. Untying his own headband and undoing the clutch on the goggles, he proudly tied his official Shinobi headband behind her head. Reaching down once more to hesitantly and affectionately kiss her nose, forcing her eyes to open with shock.

Searching his face for the oddly missing piece of him, when she found her goggles in his hand, she smiled widely before leaping into his arms. "YES, thank you!" Shouting yes over and over again as she laughed happily, the sounds of her personal punishment to Mizuki faded into groans as rope tightly held him in place.

"Congratulations on making genin, Uzumaki." Jumping in surprise once more, both Iruka and Naruto turned to face the voice as Naruto held on tighter, knowing that her open jumpsuit exposed one of her biggest secrets. However, as Iruka saw the familiar ANBU, he smiled in gratitude. Nodding as the blonde gave her own salute of thanks, he faded out of the tree and appeared beside Mizuki to pick him up off the ground by the hair, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Setting the small girl down back onto her feet, the academy teacher raised an eyebrow at the scroll still on her back. "We should probably return this now, shouldn't we, Naruto?"

Watching as her smile grew into a shameless grin, she bounced her head randomly. "Heh, yeah. The old man is going to find this sooo funny." Lying through her teeth, she could feel the anger at the bottom of her stomach boil at the memory of the seal on the back of her neck. Turning on the branch, they began heading to the Hokage's Office.

* * *

"So, that's what happened, huh?" With light gray smoke escaping his lips each time he spoke, the elderly man before the two sat with his fingers crossed before his face. Dressed in a fully body cloak, the matching triangular hat hid his upset eyes. "I'll be classifying this as an A-ranked mission for both of you, due to you uncovering a traitor to the village. You'll also be receiving a matching pay, so congratulations on becoming a genin and completing your first mission." Lifting his head to give a wink, the blonde snickered in amusement as Iruka face-palmed. "If that is all, you two are dismissed."

Watching Naruto's pleased expression fall into something along furious and hurt as Iruka turned to leave, Hurizen allowed his concern to show on his face. Flicking his wrist to the caramel man, he gave an obvious order. "You are dismissed. Go to the missions desk and receive your pay now."

With a hesitant twitch in his own fingers, the academy teacher could only wince. "Yes, Hokage-sama." Walking out of the office and slowly shutting the door behind him, Hurizen leaned back into his chair. Sighing, he took off the hat and set it on his desk, allowing his almost bald head be revealed.

"Why do I have the Memorizu Shiru no Jutsu on the back of my neck?" Turning her head and lifting up her medium length hair, showing her tanned neck to the only person in the room. "What the hell is being kept from me? I want to know, now." Dropping her hair as her fist shook, she put her hands on her hips. "I want it removed!"

"Naruto-chan, I must admit this is quite a story."

"I have all damn night."

* * *

 _Rewritten: 6/6/2017'_


	3. Stripper Friends

**Chapter 3: Stripper Friends**

With two unmatched but rhythmed footsteps, two people walked down the stairs of a towering building, right into the restricted basement. With the tension thick in the air from the two that otherwise, are very close and affectionate, the people they had passed refused to let a word leave their mouths until they were quite far.

The one leading the two, was a some-what short man. 5'3, he walked with a purposeful slump in his back. Wearing only his white robes, his face revealed nothing as the disguised girl walked behind him down the long hallway, with a furious expression on her face. Pausing at a metal looking door, Hiruzen allowed himself to turn the handle quickly, and pull it towards himself, stepping aside to allow the short pre-teen through first. Stepping in himself, he allowed the door to swing shut as the floor glowed with previous and current fuinjutsus, to protect the room and tower overall.

Allowing himself to take the lead once more, he walked to the circle in the middle of the large room. Waving his hand towards it, he gestured for her to sit as he rubbed his own temples with his other hands.

As she sat, he couldn't help but let a heavy sigh drift through his lips.

"What old man? You hadn't said a damn thing besides to follow you. I'm waiting."

"Like I had said Naru-chan, it's truly a long story. The Memorīzu Shiru no Jutsu wasn't placed to prevent you from recalling any of your memories, it was placed to show you to explain everything else." With no response from her, besides her brow slightly unfurling, he continued.

"You are Naruto Uzumaki, one of the few Uzumaki's left alive. They had a signature hair colour, that you hadn't inherited sadly, but I noticed it from when you were a little child, that you had definitely inherited their love towards paper. I can only assume that you'll be picking up fuinjutsu soon on your own, unless it's in the gift your parents had left you." Gesturing towards his own neck, he nodded towards her.

"That, was exactly why they were considered to be a threat and taken out by Kumo. Their knowledge in fuinjutsu was so advanced, that they could store water in paper, even lightning in their hands. Though we were allies, we were unfortunately taking care of Iwa in the 2nd Shinobi War when the land of Whirlpool was invaded. Your mother though, while was considered a survivor, only had because she was sent here to be the next in line, to continue the tradition and previously agreed beforehand treaty." With a slight cough, Sarutobi allowed his own mischievous grin to break through. "The first Hokage's wife, was Mito Uzumaki. If I can recall correctly, you're her 4th great niece actually."

It was with that, that Naruto's mouth began to drop open. "Your mother's name, is Kushina Uzumaki. I won't be speaking of your father just yet though, due to being personally asked by him that he will be revealed by the unsealing of those memories on the back of your neck. Unfortunately, they both had passed on the night of the Kyuubi attacking, the day of your birth." With the grin having been dropped, Hiruzen allowed a frown to grow on his face.

"On that day, I had also allowed a decree to be passed, that no one tell you the truth. The Kyuubi, is a construct of chakra. It cannot be killed by a human alone, so the next best thing was done."

Naruto's mouth immediately snapped back shut. "...It was _sealed_ into me."

Closing his own eyes, Hiruzen continued. "Yes. It couldn't be contained into a life-less container, it was just too powerful. Minato Namikaze chose you, as your chakra wasn't even remotely close to beginning to develop, just recently being born. If the Land of Whirlpool was still here today, you'd be the only string holding onto our treaty really. The treaty was that at least a half-blooded Uzumaki, would be used for the re-sealing of the Kyuubi, while the Shinobi of Konoha would wear the Uzumaki clan symbol on their official gear. We still do, out of respect for the passing." Keeping his eyes closed shut, Hiruzen allowed another heavy sigh to pass through his lips.

"Besides the, ahem, obsession with paper overall, large understanding of fuinjutsu, all Uzumaki's are born with unique types of Chakras, all with a large capacity. There have never been two similar skilled Uzumaki's before. Kushina specialized in turning her chakra into physical chains, Mito could turn hers into poison, and so forth. Uzumaki's also have an extremely long life expectancy, believe it or not." With a small smirk, Hiruzen opened his eyes and rose an eyebrow. "They can be a hundred, but look seventy. Fifty, but look thirty. Twelve, but look 10."

With an eye-roll of her own at the jab of her height, Naruto furrowed her brows together and stared. "So, what now?"

"As I've said before, Uzumaki's have always been masters at fuinjutsu. The belief that knowledge changes people if it shakes your very core enough, is from this exact technique. You will look different, but it shouldn't be too obvious." With that, the elderly man reached into his robes and pulled out a red vial.

Spinning his pointer finger around, Naruto took the hint and turned around in her spot on the floor. Opening the vial, he let it slowly drip down to her neck, completely and carefully covering the whole seal with deep red. Closing it back up and sticking it into his pocket, he formed the Inu sign, and let out a shaky breath.

"The effects won't happen immediately, neither will the memories. Just a warning." Receiving a nod from her, he allowed his chakra to flow into his finger tips and to coat his lungs, only to shout the magic words.

"Watashi o wasurenaide kudasai!"

* * *

 _There she sat, the power-house, the considered all knowing. Her name was Toshiko Uzumaki, and it wasn't as if she was a seer, oh no nothing close. She was just so vastly intelligent, and wanted us to all know. Never shutting up, she was always attempting to read into everything, even something as small as someone planting a flower. While I immensely disliked her, she was still second-in-command for a reason._

 _While in a room of red-heads, she still stood above us all. Quite literally, as she was on an elevated platform, while we all were on our knees, staring up._

 _When she was actually ever standing, she stood at 5'9, with her cherry red hair ending just below her chin in a straight edge cut. Her arctic blue eyes always had such small pupils, only adding to the sharp piercing look. With black knee high old civilization combat boots, her matching black pants were stuffed into them, adding a puffed look right above, at her knees. With a scarlet collared jacket, it was zipped up completely to her neck. Having two breast pockets, her nimble fingers reached into the left one, pulling out such a small yet thick scroll._

 _"Kushina Uzumaki, will you please rise?" With a visible wince on my face, I rose from my knees, and did my best to stand high and strong, with my chin raised to look._

 _"You have been chosen to be the next holder of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, in Konoha. You will be transported by the end of the week. Be honored for this opportunity."_

* * *

 _"Oh come on girl, I know you can do it!" His breath smelled like fish. It was absolutely disgusting._

 _"Oh, I'm so damn sorry! I can't exactly concentrate when you're yelling in my ear!" Glancing back down onto the book on the grassy green ground, I once again read the instructions. Standing up, I slowly walked towards a crystal clear lake. Taking a deep breath, I lifted both of my hands up, palms facing away from me. I could definitely feel it, my chakra. It was wonderful, like a raging storm. I knew it followed my emotions, and when I was calm, I knew it was only the eye of my forever storm. The center._

 _Taking more deep breaths, I quickly found the center. Building myself up, I remembered the fishy breath of my sensei, the yells of mock encouragement, my rude classmates that call me a tomato, and I held onto it, feeling my rage build up._

 _With a battle roar, I let it out._

 _"FUUUUUUUUCK!" My power was the only thing I could hear through my ears for a whole minute. Allowing my arms to drop back to my sides when I had vented it out, I stood up straighter when I heard clapping. Turning my head, I noticed that the grass around me was bent back, away from me. Some of the grass was outright up-rooted from the ground, due to the hooks that were on the ends of nine different chains. Allowing my eyes to drift to the direction of clapping, I noticed my bastard sensei proudly nodding as he let his arms drop back down to his sides._

 _I couldn't help but allow a small smile out though. I had inherited the Uzumaki ability to create, and it was chains. Kinky._

* * *

 _The hallway was dark, and I couldn't help but allow a shiver of pleasure to climb up my spine. Though the neon lights were dimmed, they still barely showed the scantily dressed girls in front of me. Their code names were Yume and Sana. With almost matching tiny skirts, we all wore different types of tops and stockings._

 _Yume had wild long black hair, with matching onyx eyes. With her pale skin, she wore a long neon orange sleeved crop top, a lacy blue thong sticking out above her black skirt from behind. Long, but loose looking heeled boots fit the look, with matching lacy stockings sticking out above the boots. Her real name was Mikoto Uchiha._

 _Sana was a natural brunette, with her hair the colour of bark from a tree. Naturally streaky but ending on her shoulders, her eyes nearly glowed a forest green. With a lemon like-colored spaghetti tank top on, it slightly draped over the top of her magenta skirt. With white thigh-high stockings, she wore matching magenta clingbacks. Her real name was Midori Sarutobi._

 _If I were to look down, I'd see my own baby pink tube bra-like top and emerald skirt. My stockings went all the way up, to meet a garter that would be flashed if I lifted up my legs too high. With ankle strapped, platform heels, my obnoxiously long hair was put into a high pony tail. Pausing at the door, we all looked at each other with wide smiles._

 _"Remember the mission, Kushina? I mean, Suki." With a wink, Mikoto giggled._

 _"Seduce and rob, hell yeah. I live for these nights!" And with that, the door was swung open, allowing the smell of tobacco products and alcohol to hit our noises. The pounding music hit my ears, and I couldn't help but allow a wide smile to brace my face._

 _"All my stripper friends, all my ex-boyfriends, we all want the same thing, we all want the same thing..."_

* * *

With a blink, a messy mop of spiky hair awoke from her borderline comatose state. With an almost blank look from her half-lidded eyes, she stretched out from her place on the floor, despite falling asleep in her bed. Sitting up and folding her legs, she allowed her mind to travel over the dreams she just had.

 _'No, the memory I had.'_

With a slight scowl, she rubbed the back of her neck, where the former seal labeled "Noglastic" was now acting as an actual freshly done tattoo, with the kanji of "Remember" in its place. Closing her eyes for a moment, she felt the power of the nine-tails from her stomach. With a brief smile, she allowed her hands to search for the piece of paper she left out. Only using one tanned hand, she was able to turn it into a lily. Tilting her head to the side, she quickly stuffed it above her ear and she stood up.

Pushing the blankets back up onto the bed, she allowed them to fall into a loose ball as she walked towards the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she took one look into the mirror and immediately allowed a dull thunk to echo the small bathroom as her forehead hit the mirror in disbelief.

 _"Now here are some books for you to read about your family history. It all has been taken from first hand accounts of journals from multiple people, so it's quite accurate and considered recent. Go home and get some rest, but don't forget that you will undergo changes as you see more memories."_

With a scowl once again growing on her face, Naruto slowly pulled her head back away from the mirror.

 _'Heh, I thought it'd be worse!'_

Turning her head side to side, her cerulean eyes had changed, to a dominating yet bright violet shade, with a ruby outline. Only when she came closer to the mirror to admire her eyes, did she let out a very girly scream, despite her hidden identity.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXOrigamiPrincessXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With a slight jump at the scream echoing throughout the village, the eldest Sarutobi in the room smiled sadly, which was hidden by his own folded hands sitting in front of his mouth.

"Alright, settle down. It may just be a woman in a bath house. Now, to get down to business." Removing his hands from his mouth, Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened his back in the chair, "Seeing as we have already discussed teams last night, and you know their public skills, observed from the teachers or reported from their clans, we only will be watching the announcement of team selection. I expect you to pick up your genin and test them, before the required reportation due in two days time."

Pulling out a little clear crystal ball, he rested one hand underneath it, and charged it with chakra. While with light, the ball may appear to be filled with different colours. It was with this, that those colours finally combined into a proper image; the almost full classroom at Konoha Academy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXOrigamiPrincessXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reaching into her closet, she couldn't help but throw around clothes in panic.

"How can I hide this?!" Naruto couldn't help but screech. Ripping apart her closet, she paused at the jacket pushed all the way to the back. While she typically wore a jumpsuit to hide her identity without a henge, this was given to her by the owners of her favorite ramen stand when she was younger. With a tilt of her head, she couldn't help be reminded of Toshiko Uzumaki, from Kushina's memories. With a high collar that would only leave an inch under her actual head, it was some-what tight in the arm region but loose in the torso. Luckily, it was also orange, though more of a burnt shade with black outlines.

With a shrug, she threw it on over her usual plain black shirt, zipping it all the way up. Checking the clock, she quickly began digging through her closet again, searching for a hat. Finding a black simple winter cap, Naruto could only sigh and roll her eyes. Carefully stuffing all of her hair in, she tied her headband tightly on top of it, ensuring neither pieces would be ripped off easily.

Putting on her standard ninja issued shoes, she allowed her original orange jumpsuit pants to hang above them. Stretching one last time, Naruto allowed her nose to scrunch when the sound of knocking on her front door reached her ears. Hopping over the pieces of clothing everywhere, she had to catch her balance on the door handle, quickly swinging it open.

"Hey there, Naruto. Thought I could walk you to school, to make sure you weren't late." Casually standing there, was only Iruka-sensei who grinned and winked at the last part of his sentence. Allowing her own grin, she nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind her, and locking it. "What's with the new outfit?"

Turning dramatically to Iruka, she let out another screech, this time trying to sound manly. Grabbing a hold of his chunin vest, she shook his whole body back and forth as he stared in disbelief. "Look at me!"

Only partially lifting up the cap, Naruto allowed a spiky clump of carrot orange hair reveal itself and wildly blinking her eyes, to show the ruby and violet shades. With both eyebrows rising, Iruka's grin dropped as she pulled the cap back down. "So you're just trying to hide it all?"

"Yeah, and this was the only thing I could find to hide my hair!" Waving her arms around, she let out an exaggerated heavy sigh. "I just don't know what to do about my eyes."

"Why don't you just wear your old goggles around them, instead of letting them gather in dust?" With that, Naruto's door was once again unlocked and slammed open as she shot into her studio apartment, and grabbed the pair of goggles sitting on her bed side. Strapping them onto her head quickly, she allowed the strap to hide under her cap.

Repeating the actions to lock her door, she declared that she was ready with a salut. Walking steadily to the academy, they quietly briefly touched the topics of what had happened last night.

"Kushina Uzumaki was your mother?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"I remember her, though I never knew her personally."

"Really!?"

"How could I not? She would be chasing around some of our former genins and chunins in anger or training. You could tell which one, by the way she was throwing her kunai and her hair. They called her the Red Hot Haberno for the way her temper flared."

"Former genins and chunins? But her hair!?"

"Her hair would always split into 9 long clumps of hair and swing around wildly, but former of course, because some of them had been promoted." Sliding the door open, Iruka allowed the shorter male-figure to walk through first. Waving his hand to the seats, Naruto understood to sit down somewhere in the chaos as Iruka tried to calm it.

Fortunately for Iruka, it was the sight of an almost unknown silent student that silenced the room, watching him step up and sit next to a sleeping pineapple shaped boy. Coughing into his fist, heads snapped towards the only chunin in the room.

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Mizuki will not be arriving for the team placements. I would like to congratulate all of you though for making this far. The ninja road is a long one, full of hardships..."

With that, Naruto's covered eyes slowly closed, and resting her forehead on the desk top, she allowed herself to drift into sleep.

* * *

 _It was warm, intoxicating. Having all this attention in your hands, and it was still terrifying. I knew the eyes were on me, mainly in amazement. With my hands in the air, I allowed my hips to swing side to side as my legs twirled me in a slow circle. Ridiculous slutty act otherwise, the dark red light shining onto me gave a mysterious vibe that I knew were drawing people in. While the club normally played bouncy dance music, we had personally requested some dark, almost seductive sounding songs for this moment._

 _The mission was quite simple, and could be summarized into seduce and rob. In reality, it was bigger. A rich man named Gatou was here, and was looking for women to bring home. Typically you'd expect to sleep with him for a lot of money, only for him to imprison you and sell you off to be whatever your owners wanted of you._

 _It was disgusting, and yet we wanted to take him down. We weren't even being paid. Couldn't help it, this justified thrill. Opening my eyes, I could see Mikoto steadily dancing her way to me. Resting my hands on her hips, she rubbed back against me, head leaned back, her hair flipped over her shoulder currently. Swaying our hips in harmony, we allowed the music to take over us._

 _In the corner, Midori was laughing it up with Gatou, flirting as he bought drinks for the whole table, full of beautiful women. Gatou though, had his eyes on darting back and forth from each of us. We had arrived together, making it very clear to the room that we were just friends looking for a night out. It was also clear what he was expecting._

 _Turning around, Mikoto faced me, still swaying her hips with mine. Allowing her hands to rest on my shoulders she leaned in and whispered in my ear._

 _"Wouldn't it be cute if little Sasuke and Naruto were friends when they're older? We could throw little play dates!"_

 _With a giggle, I grabbed her hands, and continued dancing. "Yeah, you'd be crazy aunt Mikoto, and Midori..." trailing off, I looked over to Midori, who was pointing towards us to Gatou. Mikoto and I waved to them, catching both their attention. With a hand gesturing to come to them, we slowly made our way to the crowd, and I turned to Mikoto one last time. "And Midori would be her god mother."_

 _Allowing one last shiver of pleasure, at this feeling of being in control, I listened to the lyrics of the unique song chosen by Midori herself._

 _"Am I beautiful, as I tear you to pieces..."_

* * *

Naruto's POV

I woke up on my own, rather than having Iruka throw a chalkboard eraser at me like normal. I woke up because the memory had ended, that was very clear. Unfortunately, it also left me a bit breathless. Taking slow deep breaths, I tried focusing on what Iruka was saying before I even attempted thinking over that memory, and how it could be connected to the ones I had before.

"...under Shizuna Amai. Team 7 is Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki-"

"WHAT!" My eyes darted towards the only pink haired girl in the class, and though I couldn't see her face from sitting behind her, I could hear the disbelief in her voice. "But sensei, he failed the genin exam! How could he be on our team?"

With a roll of his eyes, Iruka allowed his clipboard to tap against his hand in impatience. "Due to some circumstances, he has technically passed a make up exam, which is much harder than the one you took!"

She almost sat down back in her seat, before she shot up once again. "Then where is he?"

With a full blown out grin, I loudly fake coughed into my hand, and waved with the other when the rest of the class snapped their heads in my direction. "Hi, Sakura-chan." It was with that and a huff, that she angrily sat down in her place next to Sasuke Uchiha.

"As I was saying, your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Anyways, Team 8 will be..."

 _'This must be Mikoto's own son then.'_ With a frown, I couldn't help but stare at him from the side, luckily having my goggles hide where my eyes were looking the first place. _'Our parents were friends. That must've been their last mission then, before they had us.'_

Completely missing the rest of the team selection, I winced, wanting to know how everyone else was partnered. With a shrug, we were all released to lunch, told that our senseis would arrive afterwards. I didn't wait around though, picking up two bowls of ramen from Ichiraku, I quickly made my way to the Hokage Tower, having questions for the one Sarutobi I knew in person.

"Hey Old Man!" I shouted as I literally kicked in the door, making the secretary screech. Sitting at his desk, he was apparently in the room alone as a large poof of smoke dispersed. With a shake of my head at the oddness, I quickly walked in and set his order of ramen on the table, in the only clear spot away from papers.

Peeling the wrap off our bowls, we settled down. Waiting for him to at least get a few bites, I thought of how I could question him. _'Oh, the hell with it.'_

"Who is Midori Sarutobi?" His eyes nearly popped out of his head, and with a pause in his chewing, he pushed his body away from the bowl and quickly swallowed.

"Did you have a few memories with her already?" With a wild nod of my own, he sighed and shook his head.

"She is my own niece actually. She typically is on missions though, borderline over-working herself. Right now she's on another, and isn't expected back for at least another month. I'm sorry Naruto." He winced himself, staring into the broth, slowly stirring the noodles. I couldn't help but bite my lip and look into my own bowl.

"And Mikoto Uchiha...she's been gone, hasn't she?" There was no verbal response, so when I looked up, I just barely caught my grandpa figure nodding. ' _The Uchiha Massacre...'_

I couldn't help but softly sigh and continue slurping down my bowl of noodles in silence. _'So, Sasuke and I were meant to be friends, but that never happened because mom passed on the night of the Kyuubi night, so people must've prevented Mikoto and Midori from caring for me...'_

"Wait, who are my god parents?" I couldn't help but shoot my body up, right in front of the Old Man's desk. Fingers twitching at the sight of paper, I winced and tried to keep my eyes forward at jisan. "Kushina said that apparently Midori would be my god mother, so do I have a god father too or did nothing happen!?" I couldn't help it, I was getting a bit excited. Though neither god parents were around, it was still a connection to my parents.

There was a twitch in his own lips at my wince, but it blew into a full out sad smile. "Yes, you technically do have god-parents, and they're extremely important people unfortunately, so they couldn't exactly take care of you all the time, especially with the council on their backs."

I didn't bother responding because it was coming clearer and clearer each day.

I'm the Kyuubi container, the third one in line. We can be weapons with the powers sealed into our stomachs. As children in Konoha, we learned of the First Hokage and his ability to manipulate wood itself, and his ability to control the bijus, in which he gifted each main nation and their shinobi villages with their own as a sign of peace. Over time, though those that may hold the biju might be treated cruelly, we're still signs of Villages power thanks to him.

If anyone besides their own blood took care of them-well. The political power over such a weapon, though we may be genin at one point, is unbelievable. It's clearly even worse in Konoha, due to Uzumaki's being the holders of the most powerful biju. That's why no one could adopt me, outside of biased views.

By this point, I've been done with my bowl of ramen. It was just sitting empty in my lap. My fingers were beginning to twitch, so quickly and violently. I couldn't help but allow myself to soak in my thoughts of such horse shit.

"Naruto-chan?" I wasn't allowed to have a family, all because some families didn't want to be jealous of one another!? I understand that someone would've adopted me just for the power, but even they would have to at least accept me enough to allow me to carry their name.

"Are you okay?" No, I would've never carried their name if I knew this before and was adopted. Knowing now...I refuse to be the joke of my family, even if I'm not the last one yet. I may not have their signature look to show off my Uzumaki birth right, but I will do my best to be good enough for them.

"Naruto-chan. Look at me." I can't help it, I'm shaking. I'm so angry. I could've had a family, here in Konoha and in another place of the world, always. I could've grown up loved, taught how to read properly when I was 6 years old, instead of flunking the first half of my time in my academy all because people let their fears get in the way! They could've made a treaty with them, instead of destroying and wiping out entire lives! Archives of history and information, for god knows what now!

I could feel my chakra stirring. It was whirling in a wide circle, slowly closing in. It was a hungry whirlpool, consuming all. Besides, what gave Kumo the right to decide what was dangerous?! My fingers were beginning to clench, twitch, and without paper there, began to follow immediate instructions on how to create an origami fox, or at least, until a tan, almost wrinkly hand rested on both of mine.

Looking up, jisan was staring into my goggled eyes. In there, was worry and curiosity. Taking deep breaths, I slowly calmed myself.

"Are you okay, Naruto-chan?" My fingers slowed to a stop, and my shaking calmed into a small tremble every once in awhile. With a silent nod, he patted my covered head. "Thank you for the lunch, though I believe you should be getting ready back to class to meet your sensei."

"Yeah, you're right, jisan." Moving the bowl from my lap and getting up to leave, I stretched my arms above my head. "Hey.. what was the name exactly, of the place Kumo destroyed?"

Moving back to his own swirly office chair, he settled himself in comfortably, and smiled up at me as his other hand reached down to one of the lower drawers in his desk, that is typically locked. With a click, he looked down for just a few seconds before apparently finding what he was looking for. A clearly yellowed envelope, he reached out to hand it to me. Taking it, he finally answered my question.

"Uzushiogakure, in Uzu no Kuni." And with a shooing hand, I smiled at him.

 _'Hidden Village of the Whirling Tides, in the Land of Whirlpools, huh?'_

Walking out of the official Hokage's Office, I was able to glance at a clock, and begin heading back to the Academy, slowly. ' _The memories are in an order; one they set on their own. So, the first one? How Kushina became the holder of the Kyuubi.'_ Dodging citizens, no matter how slow I walked, I made it back to the Academy with no delays, on time, to see other sensei's begin popping into the room or walking through the door, picking up their students. Sitting down myself, I sat in Shikamaru's original seat, behind Sasuke and Sakura and began playing the waiting game. _'The second memory.. the Uzumaki chakra ability. Maybe I should begin, to see at least what I can do?'_

Despite being lost in my thoughts, I was constantly glancing at the door, waiting for when our sensei would arrive and pick us up-as we were the last team waiting. _'The third, I guess, to show me who her closest friends were, and the fourth, to show me the plans she had for me? I dunno.'_ With an annoyed sigh, I threw my head back and stared at the ceiling. Counting the tiles, there was nothing else to do besides this and to try and discover my own special ability.

Hearing Sakura sigh, and begin muttering under her breath, I quickly went from counting ceiling tiles to closing my eyes, and blending the noise around me together. Steadily, Sakura's voice began mixing with the buzzing of quietly squeaking yet several swinging ceiling lights.

The pushy wind outside, rustling the tree right outside the window, soon followed into the blender of noises. Calming my breath into a slow rhythm, it only lost itself in the blender, as if it was milk being steadily added into a smoothie.

The blender itself didn't make any noise, though it constantly spun, with no stop as long as I held on. Almost as if consuming the mixed noises, only listening to them combined, quickly became a part of me, completely. My chakra was coming to life with each drop of the noise smoothie swallowed, no longer just swirling pointlessly, into a never ending circle. Now it was wrapping itself around me, tightly as though it was a blanket and I was its black hole of a center, forever tightening. It was when the blended noise disappeared, though not the feeling, I finally opened my eyes to a dark and damp sewer.

Along the walls there was a mix between rusted and brand new, cleaner looking pipes. While there was always a puddle of water on the floor everywhere, the apparent water in the pipes were coloured differently. In the cleaner pipes, there was a soft blue, steadily dripping and flowing at an even pace. The rustier pipes though, flowed in pulses, making the whole set of pipes rattle throughout the hall randomly. Glowing a nasty red, the mossy covering parts of the wall shied away from those, instead wrapping around the cleaner pipes. Down the hall though, there was a gentle, warm light compared to the darkness.

Slowly walking to it, my eyes followed the design of pipes. Most were tangled around its own type of colour, though there were random bunches that swirled, and just absolutely glowed a dark purple, almost as though the red and blue were mixing. While the warm light at the end got closer, the whirlpool feeling had once again, disappeared. Another feeling though completely took over.

It was the mischievous streak, the borderline adrenaline injection, when I knew I was beginning to live life on the edge. My exposure to being better, to being different in a whole other way, the feeling of when I knew I could take control of the situation, and win with no problem. Lifting my head higher, I walked toward the light and stopped at the entrance, peering in.

The room was larger than the Hokage Tower itself, and on the other end, stood tall bars. In the middle, there was a simple paper with written kanji. Several of the red pipes completely ran into the cage itself, with more of the mixing swirling pipes hand in hand.

While the mischievous feeling still contained me, I quickly connected the dots on where I was. _'Kyuubi.'_

 **"...You called, human?"**

There, separated by many bars, opened two enlarged blood shot eyes. With the shade of red matching the chakra pipes, two pitch black slits for pupils only added a sharp look.

Walking only two steps forward into the room itself, the water was already crawling up my shoes, to my ankles. Where am I anyways?

 **"Your mind. You came here all on your own,"** With a large ripple in the water and pause, the Kyuubi stood closer to the edge of his cage, revealing his radiant figure completely. **"Now what do I owe my gracious jailer for this visit?"**

With a furrowed brow, I stared at him silently as my mind slowly mulled over on how I arrived. "Mito Uzumaki, Kushina Uzumaki, and now me." Tilting my head, I walked just a few steps closer. Not breaking my stare, I allowed my hands to cross behind my back. With the ground trembling, I saw his furred legs tense as his claws dug down into the concrete.

I truly had nothing to say. His reaction on just their names had clearly upset him, clearly making it obvious that he didn't have the best interaction with them. I wanted to ask him on how they were personality wise, and what did he even know about the bijuus overall. To know on if he knew about human history itself, to know his thoughts, because he clearly wasn't just a chakra construct.

He could clearly feel, and to feel something more complex and react so simply, he could think, talk in our own human language, and all the theories we had learned previously in the Academy just didn't add up to this itself. So what, chakra could just gather in the air and create something harmful that can talk? There were summoning animals, even fox contracts, but none with multiple tails. Was there really a god, with a heaven and hell, creating demons that were set free on Earth, never being able to properly die?

No, there is clearly a god. The Shinigami himself sealed you in me. The Shinigami himself has our 4th Hokage sitting in his stomach, because my mother wasn't able to keep you in her.

But then, why do you exist? How do you exist? Human history has tracked us further than we want to acknowledge as ninjas and citizens, but you only appeared when chakra usage began to boom.

It became clear that the fox could hear me, as he unclenched his claws from the concrete and sat back down. It became even clearer though, that he didn't want to answer me in anything. With a sigh, I shifted onto my left leg and closed my eyes.

Letting go of my thoughts, when I opened my eyes again, I was back in the classroom. Sitting forward in the desk, I rested my head into the palm of my hand and stared at the chalkboard. With a sigh, I checked the time.

 _4:38pm_

Reaching into my pocket, I finally pulled out the envelope that was handed to me by jisan. Opening it, I found out it was an already pre-written mission request, asking to have a jounin escort me be taken to the ruins of Uzushiogakure, in Uzu no Kuni. Labelled a B, everything was filled out except the personal request of which jounin and the signature of the one requesting for escort. With a small smile though, I finally heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

Glancing up at the door, I fumbled to put the request back into the envelope as Sakura and Sasuke finally heard the footsteps themselves. All staring intently at the door, it slowly slid open. Stepping inside, the man was taller than average, wearing the typical jounin uniform-green jounin vest with navy blue loose shirt with puffy pants. He though, had a mask that crawled up his neck, and ended above his eyes. Only one was revealed though, as the other was covered with his slanted headband.

He had defying gravity, silver hair. With his audible sigh, I recognized him from last night as the Dog ANBU. "My first impression? You're all boring." Walking out the door, he had a slouch in his back and his hands in his pockets. "Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes."

Standing up, Sasuke attempted to take the lead in our small line for heading to the roof.

With a roll of my eyes, I didn't say anything as we all marched up the stairs.

* * *

 _The songs used in order were:_

 _Stripper Friends - Tila Tequila_

 _Sick Like Me - In This Moment_


	4. The Fighter

**Chapter 4: Fighter**

 _Naruto POV_

We were all sitting on the steps properly leading to a balcony, overlooking Konoha. While Sakura was attempting to be snuggled up to Sasuke, I was sitting off the side, a few steps down from him. Kakashi Hatake though, our apparent sensei, was leaning on the railing with his arms crossed. Lazily staring at us, it became a staring contest.

Minutes had passed as we stared intently into his one eye, as his slowly bounced in between the three of us. It was with a sudden jerk though, that he clapped his hands together and closed his eye. "So, first things first! Introduce yourselves."

"Ano, sensei...how do we do that?" Sakura had been the one to speak up, shyly rubbing her arms.

"Oh you know...likes and dislikes, hobbies and dreams." Crossing his arms again, he smiled with his eye? It's not like you could tell behind his mask.

"Can you show us how to do it?" It was Sakura again, though her voice sounded a bit more firm and bolder compared to her first shy question.

"Alright," and with a shift in his legs, he raised one hand to rub his chin. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like quite a bit of things, but I also dislike some other things. My hobbies, include doing stuff. My dream though! Heh, it's pretty cool." Meeting with blank stares and twitching eyebrows, he once again did his eye-smile, and pointed at Sakura. "Alright, you first Pinky."

Turning my head around completely, I was able to catch her face dropping into an angry scowl. With a little hmph, she crossed her arms tightly and up turned her nose. "My name is Sakura Haruno, not Pinky!" Crossing her legs and closing her eyes just enough so not everybody would notice her staring at the raven next to her, she continued. "I like certain people, and my dreams include them..." With a bite of her lip, she lowered her head back down with a blush. "My hobbies are shopping and hanging out."

"And your dislikes?"

"Naruto and Ino-pig!" I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that. It's as if her whole being was centered around the idea of popularity and the last Uchiha. While I had chased after her for years, it was more out of interest in being friends than wanting romantic dates. Everyone just mistook it as so, which was a little okay in my book due to my hidden gender. Most girls our age and older though, normally go after the apparent prodigy each school year. Last year, it was Neji Hyuuga.

Well, thinking about it now, it's either the apparent prodigy or the biggest asshole.

"Moon, you're next." I was confused until I looked up at the silver-haired man, who was pointing to Sasuke. With a snort, I got the joke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone." With his hands crossed in front of his face, I was pretty damn sure my disturbance reflected on my face, as he began to glare at me. Sakura though, was staring at him with hearts in her eyes.

Everyone in Konoha knows about the Uchiha Massacre, where Sasuke's older, famed brother had snapped and killed everyone. Everyone, except him on purpose. Itachi Uchiha, the next clan head, became an elite ANBU at the age of 13, and captain only a few months afterward. Ironically, matching his name, his mask was Weasel. It was depressing to have your own clan killed by a sibling. But in an odd way, I felt like Sasuke was taking it wrong. It happened, yeah, who wouldn't be traumatized for it? But he was only 6 years old, and he suddenly just flipped and decided that he wanted to kill him.

Unless someone told him it was a good idea to do it, for closure or enacting punishment, then the idea of personally killing him, should've came later in his life.

"Sun, you're up next." Grinning, I leaned back on the steps with my hands behind my head. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like origami, eating ramen, and my plants. My dislikes include the 3 minutes it takes to make ramen, how paper can get soggy when it's wet, and traitorous bastards that lie, cheat, and blame everything on somebody else. My hobbies are training, folding origami, and my dream is..."

It's still being Hokage, yeah. Though, learning about my family, the clan that I could've been apart of, if people actually thought rationally. But my goals, aren't completely on a straight shot toward into the Hokage Tower anymore. My goal for Hokage, was to be the ultimate protector for this village. Not the last defense, not the first defense, but the one who creates the offense, who orders for the gates to be taller, and who is the famed lucky card when worse comes to worse. The Hokage, like others, that crave for a peace that works for a long time.

It slightly has changed. Knowing that people were killed just for being more than efficient in a subject most people turn away, that a history was destroyed with almost no one to remember it, that knowledge about shit that no one else knew about was lost.

I wasn't going to turn to revenge. There's enough people wanting it. But, I won't let the world beat down on anyone defenseless anymore, neither will I allow it to destroy people or places when there are other methods to get what they want. Most importantly, I wanted to show that one of the remaining Uzumaki's, won't take the worlds bullshit sitting down.

"My ambition is to shove a fucking spiked stick up Kumos ass." I could feel the chakra stirring and spiking in surprise in everyone. I knew why. Because I use to shout about how I was going to be Hokage all day whenever I got the chance, but I was coming to realize that the world was much more complicated, and though I knew the road to Hokage was tough, there were just some things that needed to be done first.

Wait, since when could I feel peoples chakra this detailed?

"Well, you guys sure are weird. Tomorrow, we'll be taking on our first activity." He hadn't moved much, but his chakra was still stirring in surprise. "And it's going to be a survival activity!"

"But sensei! We've already done those in the academy!" Sakura's voice was to it's normal volume of borderline yelling, though her shyness has seem to evaporated with the more time we've spent with him.

"Yes, but this one is going to be far different, because there's a chance you're going to fail, and be put back into the Academy for another year."

"What!?"

"You can't do that, can you!?" It was only Sakura and me who actually even said anything, though Mr. Avenger back there, was irritated at it as well. All three of us, had our chakra spiking.

"Yes I can, and I will if you don't pass. There is a 66.6 chance, of absolute failure. Only 33.3 of you in the graduating class will even pass." The roof was silent, and when Kakashi-sensei searched our faces, he eye-smiled once again. "Tomorrow! 5am at training grounds 7 entrance bridge. Don't be late, and you might not want to eat anything. You'll just throw it up anyways."

With a wave, he disappeared in a shunshin poof.

Looking up at the sky, I sighed. Sakura and Sasuke sat only for a few moments longer, though when they got up to leave, I overheard Sakura be rejected for a date by Sasuke. Closing my eyes, I relaxed in the sun as I listened to them leave, though I could still feel them in the building.

The more I concentrated on feeling though, the more people I could. There on the street outside of the Academy, some children playing in the playground, and teachers in the break room.

Keeping my eyes closed, I once again allowed the sounds to begin blending, though the distance and things I was picking up, was further than before. Feeling others chakra though, only fueled me when I began consuming the blended noises. The blanket was becoming tighter, opening to bury every crook and cranny in me. Holding onto it, I allowed myself to follow my moms own idea on figuring out my chakra ability.

 _"How did the Hokage allow the demon to join the academy.."_

 _"You'll never be as good as him, Naruto..."_

 _"Just give up..."_

 _"That, was exactly why they were considered to be a threat and taken out by Kumo..."_

 _"It cannot be killed by a human alone, so the next best thing was done..."_

 _"You have no parents, because they decided they didn't want a monster like you..."_

 _"You're in danger, as a girl. You'll be better if you're disguised as a boy..."_

 _'I could've had a family...'_

Holding onto the anger, it was unfair. My whole life was unfair. I could've had so much, but instead everything I had, was second hand, except the paper.

Oh the paper. It wasn't just from the memories, it was almost a passed down obsession from my mother. Despite all the slander on her and my father, their memories can and will be tarnished by assholes, but their birth and death certificates hold their memories and their entire lives, on just two different sheets of paper.

Paper, was where the decree of not telling the current generation about Kyuubi was written. On paper, there are orders on destroying Uzushiogakure, mission reports and dinner orders in tea houses in the middle of nowhere. On paper, was where entire lives were written.

Holding onto the feeling of anger and sadness, I allowed it to consume me until I felt like I was floating, and then I released it. Opening my eyes, I looked around me and didn't notice anything different. _'Did I not do it right?'_

With a frown, I glared at the ground and stood up. Walking to the door leading to the stairs, I reached out for the handle when I finally saw it.

My hand was a pasty white. Turning it around, to look into my palm, I finally noticed why.

There were slits and lines everywhere, and following them, I realized my hand was made up of squared origami paper. _'Can I..?_ ' With a flutter, my hand quite literally dropped out of my jacket, and constantly floated around in the air, never landing. Smiling, I silently commanded them to turn into crows, and with a fluttering scratching, they were quickly soaring birds.

Watching them, I raised my other arm and tugged down my sleeve. With a few more harsher commands, it slowly became a pasty white as well with soft lines, along with my jacket.

Looking into the doors window, I watched all of my reflection become that same pasty white. With a shaky breath, I said my next command under my breath.

"Separate."

I could feel it all, I could see all around me.

It was amazing, and addicting. Though I couldn't talk, my paper body followed each command with no problem. Heading to my apartment above all the houses and despite all windows closed, I was able to slip right underneath each one. Forming right in the living room, I let out a screech of enjoyment.

Jumping over all of the clothes still everywhere, I quickly snatched up a notebook and brush. _'All the things I can do now, being paper!'_

Sitting down at the rickety desk, I quickly began creating ideas for jutsus I could now create as I steadily undressed from my disguise.

 **-Origami Princess-**

 _The ball was absolutely stunning. The spotless floor almost always glimmered despite the guests dancing. With a very high ceiling, it had a beautifully made glass, with the colours and shapes creating the symbol for the Land of Fire. With a raised stage, a woman was playing an old but large piano, with an even higher raised orchestra behind her._

 _"I don't need you to save me. I don't need you to cure me. I don't need you and your antidote, for I am my disease."_

 _It was a gathering, a ball really, celebrating the new Daimyo. Several Konoha clan heads, along with popular world-wide merchants, and a few delegates from other countries, were here. Including those with important power of course of high ranking ninja, along with one man._

 _"I don't need you to free me, I don't need you to help me. I don't need you to lead me through the light, for I will always fall."_

 _The man was average. 5'8, he had plain chestnut hair, almost always slightly gelled back. He had a ring on his left ring finger, signifying marriage, though the report I had received, declared that it was a false identity he normally played. With matching eyes though, he walked with his neck constantly bent forward, playing shy and humble. With twiddling fingers, when he pretended to open up, he would gesture with the conversation. Today, for the ball, he was dressed in a simply decorated green kimono. With leaf-less trees climbing up from the end, his simple celebration kimono only allowed him to blend in with the vastly dressed up crowd._

 _"And rise again, your venomous heroine 'cause I'm a survivor. Yeah, I am a fighter. I will fall and rise above, and in your hate I find love. 'Cause I'm a survivor. Yeah, I am a fighter."_

 _But he can't escape me. Nobody can. Smiling pleasantly, I introduced myself to other guests, politely making my way around, attempting to make positive connections to some big names in and out of the country. He though, kept to the sides. It wasn't until that he snuck through a small door, that I knew his time was up. Following him, I allowed my kimono to below behind me._

 _"I will not hide my face, I will not fall from grace. I'll walk into the fire, baby. All my life I was afraid to die, but now I come alive inside these flames."_

 _Always keeping myself just behind him, I covered my vast chakra. When he arrived to a small room, I quickly snuck in through the door and kept myself hidden in the shadows as he undressed._

 _"You don't want me to love you. You don't want me to need you. You don't want to look at me,_ _for you will turn to stone."_

 _Underneath his kimono, there was only a small wrapping around his genital area. Barring my teeth, I finally allowed my chakra to form just enough to create my chains. Coming out of the palm of my hands, I raised them just enough to not drag on the floor and make a noise. When he had paused in his undressing, I quickly willed the chains to wrap around his body. Trapped, he tried screaming for help as I stepped forward and slapped a sticky paper seal onto his mouth, sucking away his chakra and silencing him._

 _"You don't want me to hurt you. You don't want me to bite you. You don't want me or my aching soul, for I will only fall."_

 _Forcefully turning his body to face me, I stood in the moonlight casted from the window. Reaching up, I slowly un-did my long hair from its style. Once it fell though, I reached behind myself and began undoing my complicated kimono. His eyes had widen, but when the wrapping finally fell to the floor and my kimono fell open, his interested eyes had began to glint fear._

 _"And rise again, your venomous heroine 'cause I'm a survivor. Yeah, I am a fighter. I will fall and rise above, and in your hate I find love 'cause I'm a survivor. Yeah, I am a fighter."_

 _While being in Konoha since I was 9, I still closely followed the Uzushiogakure battle outfits, as I found them more efficient due to my special chakra, such as most Uzumaki did. With a loose, orange one shoulder strap vest, it fell open for the puffy sleeved but other wise tight black shirt to peek through. Adding my own touch though, I had a long orange skirt on, with slits riding up the actual puffy black standard pant legs. I adorned the modernized old civilization knee-high boots. With a sinister smile, I allowed the kimono to fall off my hidden outfit. Showing him my hands though, was when he began struggling._

 _"I will not hide my face, I will not fall from grace. I'll walk into the fire, baby. All my life I was afraid to die, but now I come alive inside these flames."_

 _Allowing the chains to drop out of my hands to be held more properly, I tugged him forward for him to roughly fall onto his knees before me. "Why hello, Yusei Shimura. I believe you understand why you're here, don't you?" With a hurried shake of his head, his eyes gleamed with desperation but my sinister smile only grew. "You haven't just commtted any pathetic crime against me, but something absolutely monstrous towards my people."_

 _Bringing his face in close, I allowed my dessert smelling breath to blow across his face. "My name is Queen Kushina Uzumaki, of Uzu no Kuni." Holding both chains in my left hand, I allowed my right to raise and caress his exposed face. "Or, what's left of it. All because of you." Using my finger nails, I began to claw into his face, leaving long bloody scratches. "The Damiyos all even claimed that since I'm the only exposed Uzumaki left, that I can do whatever I want with the land since I'm the official Queen. But I won't, because I don't want anymore of your filth near it!"_

 _I couldn't help but strike him, forcing him to fall onto his side as he muffled a scream of pain. "But you, are the reason that it's destroyed. Did you ever realize that, when you exposed our defense?" Willing the chains to form an official metal collar around his neck, I pulled him back up to his knees. "Did you? Did you know Kumos plan to annihilate us? Or did you just assume with your so pointlessly empty head, that they just wanted to raid us of our resources?" With a grimace, he nodded in fear._

 _"You're so pathetic." Standing up once again, I looked down at him trembling. Watching, I tilted my head. Using my right hand once more, I reached into the pouch tied onto my right leg, and pulled out a shining Uzushiogakure headband, and tied it onto my forehead with no problem. Watching me, I didn't look away from his pleading eyes the whole time. "You have committed crimes, not against just Uzushiogakure, but against Uzu no Kuni and her people. With our treaty to the Land of Fire though, that gives me the power to announce you as a known criminal, even here. I thereby, sentence you to immediate death." Raising my right hand, I showed him the back, that began glowing with a seal. Slowly, a Celtic Sword came out, handle first. Dropping the chains in my left hand, I slowly grabbed hold, and pulled it out completely. Turning it a few times, allowing it to shine in the moonlight, I smiled one last time, one more of guilty pleasure._

 _Once again willing the chains, they moved his body to the side, and forced him to bend forward as the collar slowly came undone. Taking the Celtic Sword in both hands, I raised it above my head, allowing the carved words of the Uzu no Kuni's official Queen blade to shine and reflect in the light._

 _"May you never forget." With one swing, his head became undone from his body. Watching the blood ease out, I pulled a small scroll from my pocket, and ordered my chains to disparate back into chakra. Sealing his body and head into the scroll, I threw his kimono out of the window, watching it flutter itself into the water that the castle resided next to. Hearing a pair of footsteps attempt to quietly walk toward the door with a feminine drunken giggle, I jumped out the window, and with chakra walked down the side of the castle as the door open. Lowering myself just enough for the Guards to still not notice me, I used a chakra powered jump to launch myself into the forest._

 **-Origami Princess -**

 _3rd POV_

Waking up at her desk instead of her bed, the now carrot top lifted her head up. Running a hand through her hair, Naruto allowed a sigh to escape at another memory induced dream. Rubbing her eyes, she looked down at the desk. Realizing she fell asleep at her desk in the middle of planning several jutsus, she couldn't help but reread some of the ideas and side note questions. Leaning forward though, she attempted to check the alarm clock sitting near her bed. Not being able to, she stood up and stretched her arms above her head.

Walking toward it, she finally saw the time.

 _3:18am_

With a rub of her eyes again, Naruto rolled them. _'Well, at least I feel like I slept really good.'_ Glancing at the innocent notebook, she let out a foxy smirk. _'After I eat, maybe I can practice?'_

Nodding, she began picking up the clothes tossed around from yesterday, and threw them back near the closet. Undressing on the way, she tossed the ones she was wearing into another pile near the bathroom door. Standing nude, Naruto quickly grabbed two cup of ramens and filled them with water. Stuffing the two cups into the microwave, she picked up the still clean jacket and tossed it next to the notebook on the desk, and grabbed a fresh pair of underwear with a pair of black shorts and shirt.

Hearing the ding go off, the carrot top quickly returned to the microwave and began devouring the cups. Once done, she threw them away and washed the chopsticks. Heading to the bathroom, she had a quick, steamy shower. With a pause at the cloudy mirror, she rubbed her hand over it, exposing her face. Leaning close, she once again checked her eyes. While the violet was still very dominating and bright, the ruby outline only began to recede. Angling her body, her orange hair only began to change into multiple shades. Neon to an almost burnt, darkened red. The spikes only slightly calmed though, not looking like they'd poke an eye out anymore.

With another sigh, she leaned her head back in exasperation. Rubbing her temples, she had no problem besides a bra on the floor, on walking to the desk to put on her outfit. Grabbing the notebook, a spare brush and ink bottle, and two of her fuinjutsu books, she quickly headed to Training Ground 7.

Passing the bridge they were meant to meet on in another hour and halfish, she left a kage bushin in her place, to foreign sleeping. Arriving to a small clearing though, deeper in the grounds, Naruto set her items down, and summoned only a hundred versions. Without needing a verbal command, two of them sat in the trees with the fuinjutsu books. Deciding to only begin practicing with the first 10 ideas she wrote, she allowed the groups to rip out their piece of jutsu.

Deciding to work on one by herself, without her other...selves with, Naruto went toward idea 13: Death Angel. Sitting down, she practiced disapparating herself repeatedly, and following the notes, she attempted to add more paper to her back, to create wings.

It took awhile, with the distraction of a few clones that had popped over time, but with a facepalm, she solved her difficulty. ' _The fucking ability is that our chakra can create something. Mine can create paper. I don't need to use my body to do it, I just need my chakra to form more paper!'_

With a gentle, eased out sigh, Naruto sat once again. Closing her eyes, she allowed chakra to create the paper directly out of her back, with each individual piece rolling up, forming a sharp feather-like piece. Standing up, she allowed the focusing. With a surprised shout though, Naruto opened her eyes back open to see some of her clones staring in surprise. Looking back, she saw the long, but dangerous wings. Looking up at the sky, she noticed the sun coming up. With a grin, she turned to the others as they took steady steps back.

Willing them to flap, Naruto began to hover in the air above all her clones. With a wave of her hands though, paper began to shoot out and itself into whatever that was in its way, though once making its mark, it popped out of existence like the clones being targeted.

Once every clone was a counted for, Naruto slowly made her way through the trees, to the bridge. While she wasn't just going to join them yet, she wanted the practice in maneuvering as she thought over the clones progress on the list. Once arriving near the edge of the forest, with perfect view of the bridge, she could see and feel Sasuke, Sakura, and her remaining clone chakra and bodies. Landing on a branch, she shrugged and jumped backwards, with her wings catching her as she soared through the air. Arriving back in the clearing, she once again summoned several clones.

Raising her hands though, she began testing.

 _'Bloody Caress and Lovely Caress work. While the only difference is going to be the execution. Bloody will aim for the lungs while Lovely would aim for the mouth and nose, and commit asphyxiation on the victim. There is practically no problems on this, though if the target struggled, they wouldn't get too far if multiple layers of paper was set. Carousel is fucking perfect. Wrapping around the targets area, it traps them in a white spinning ball. On the inside, paper would be flying and shooting randomly, nicking the multiple targets, or just outright killing them.'_

 _'Paper Trail: Kunai also works, though the Shiruken didn't. It makes sense, due to the constant spinning and multiplying compared to a Kunai. It's, frustrating. Luckily, Paper Trail: Battle Cry worked. Super simple. Send some small, origami bugs or birds, that will scope the area or collect intell about whatever I need, and if it's needed, kill a target. Killpop and Professional Monster will have to wait, for now though. Unfortunately, the other techniques are a bit harder to do, or to truly test. Or at least, in the middle of a training ground waiting to be used.'_ As Naruto landed, she couldn't help but a foxy grin at the idea of surprising her teammates on a technique or two.

' _While the idea of hiding my ability is pleasing, I need to show people I'm a true Uzumaki anyways._ ' Throwing her hands behind her head, she relaxed in the grass and stared into the sky. _'Besides, a lot of people respect a powerful ninja. If I suddenly whip out a ton of secret knowledge, it'll make people wary. But if they watch me become a bit stronger, though they don't need to know everything, then they'll have a better chance of believing me when I come and say some ridiculous, borderline unbelievable shit anyways.'_

With a happy sigh, Naruto closed her eyes and began thinking back to the memory of her mother. 'She hunted a man down, who had involvement with the destruction...' Biting her lip, she winced. _'She had every right to do it, because he was in a country he was wanted in, due to being allies with the land of Uzu no Kuni.'_ Rolling onto her stomach, Naruto let her face rest on her arms. _'So, what? That makes my mom a queen of a land that has fallen apart? I guess I can see why. Sort of. Not really.'_

 _'Oh whatever. I'll ask jisan later or something though. But now, I should probably replace my clone._ ' Standing up from her original position, Naruto walked toward the chakra sources, and commanded her clone to pop. Finally walking onto the bridge, Naruto noticed Sakura and Sasuke staring as she walked up. Finding the exact place her bushin was she sat as Sakura began opening her mouth, or at least until there was another poof. Looking towards it, the smoke finally disappeared to reveal their long awaited sensei.

"YOU'RE BOTH LATE!" Sakura had screamed, pointing at both Naruto and Kakashi. With a little grin from Naruto, Kakashi just shrugged. "There was a black cat in my way, so I had to take the long way around."

"LIAR!"

"Anyways, my cute little genin," Reaching into his pocket, Kakashi walked into training ground 7, with all three pre-teens following. Walking to the very center of the exposed area, he sat an alarm clock on the stump. "You have until noon to take these two bells from me." Raising his shirt just slightly, two rusted bells were exposed and tinkling in the breeze.

"But there's only two bells sensei, and three of us?"

With an eye smile, Kakashi nodded. Setting the timer for sure, he crossed his arms. "You better come at me with the intent to kill, if you expect to take me down."

With shocked looks from Sakura and a subtle one from Sasuke, Naruto only furrowed her brow and frowned. "B-But sensei, what if we do end up killing you?"

With another shrug, he kept eye smiling. "Ready?"

All of the genin tensed their muscles. "Set?"

Silence besides the breeze. "Go."

Leaving only Kakashi in the clearing, he shrugged it off. _'They all seem to know how to hide themselves quite well.'_

"Hey, cyclops!"

 _'Well, almost all of them.'_

Turning around, the apparent cyclops turned to face the one and only, Naruto Uzumaki. Throwing several kunai, each and every single one missed its intended target.

"You know, you missed."

With a tilted head, Naruto smiled. Shooting herself towards the tall man, she began a sloppy taijutsu dance with the man, who never used more than his arms to block. Or at least until several clones began attacking. With a quick glance around, he finally noticed it. _'Oh, his kunai must've been henged bunshin. How could I not tell?'_

Popping every single bushin with ease, Kakashi looked at the original, who smiled quite foxy, even underneath her goggles, you could see her eyes nearly glowing with mischief. Once more, she launched herself at the man. Holding both of her hands as she nearly growled, he then flipped her into the air.

"Kage no bunshin!"

Turning around just in time, he watched as the clone threw the original back at him. Readying himself, Kakashi couldn't help but let a tiny genuine smile to grace his covered lips as the kid quite literally didn't do anything, besides launch herself for a huge hug that only knocked him back by a foot. Prying at her arms, he tried to get her off, nearly giggling.

Or at least until he saw the sinister, fox grin.

 **"KILLPOP!"**

* * *

 _'What the fuck was that!? I can't see!'_ Due to being so close to an explosion, caused by an apparently suicidal Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, could not see for the life of him. _'What the fuck?!'_ Rubbing his eyes, he took one wrong step back, and fell out of the tree he was hiding in. Landing on something soft, that felt quite feminine, he heard a groan.

Knowing he was blinking, but being unable to see, he luckily is missing his own breast squeezing and straddling of his disguised teammate, Naruto. Clutching the grass, Naruto could only freeze up as Sasuke continuously kept groping her as he straddled her waist. Biting her lip, she lifted her head just enough to look at his tightened, pulled up shorts. Wincing, she let out silent shuttering breaths. Sasuke though, didn't know which teammate he landed on.

"What happened?!" Trying to get an answer out of the teammate beneath him, he leaned down and attempted to hear a heart beat, or to at least hear if they were even breathing.

What he didn't remember was, that he was blind, and didn't know where he was putting his own body.

Maneuvering himself, he raised himself above the body, and accidentally stuck his knee tightly in between Naruto's legs. Leaning down, he rested his head against her chest, and listened to an erratic heart beat. Lifting his head back up, he frowned as his vision steadily began returning.

Blinking even further, he finally began to see the colour orange, and a familiar face, flushed red. Still breathing as equally erratic as her heart. _'Oh fuck.'_

"Dobe, what the fuck did you do?" Pushing himself up and off the disguised girl, he only fell once again due to his vision still blurry. Watching her though, he awaited a response.

Refusing to say a thing, Naruto laid in the grass, squeezing her legs together. Never being touched before, romantically or much else platonically besides grandfatherly hugs, she was cracking to the feeling of being touched. Exchanging silence for refusal to look him in the eyes, she could help but stutter. "F-Fuck you Teme...you f-fell, on me..."

Furrowing his brow, he rubbed his eyes. "No, not that Dobe. The explosion."

Staring at the sky, she let a tiny smile out. "A new technique." Staring at her, he remembered how feminine she felt, despite him knowing for a fact that Naruto Uzumaki was a pureblooded male. A stupid male, but a male nonetheless. Naruto, in all of her disguised glory, couldn't help but silently wonder on if he's figuring it out or not in his own silence.

Finally lifting up herself, she did her best to shake off what just happened. Turning to Sasuke, she scrunched up her face.

"Our class was made up of 30, right?"

"No shit, Dobe."

"Well, then lets assume that every jounin is testing their genin like this. Then how can 33.3% graduate?" Pausing in the rubbing of his eyes, Sasuke blinked repeatedly. Staring back at Naruto, he finally connected the dots she was spelling out for him and he couldn't help but scowl and begin glaring at the ground.

Crossing her arms though, her mind finally had returned to what it was originally focused on, before boys began falling out of trees. _'Sakura should be done getting tested right about now.'_ Hearing a loud, feminine screech, Naruto only nodded at the accuracy of her new Paper Trail techniques. "Teme, we have to go and get Sakura now."

With an angry sigh, Sasuke finally was able to regain his balance and bearings, and raised himself back to his feet. With a nod, he began walking in the direction of the scream. Following him, Naruto sent another Killpop towards the last place she had seen Kakashi run off to. Finally arriving to the small clearing that held Sakura, she was laying unconscious. Crossing her arms, Naruto sighed. "Genjutsu." Walking forward, she crouched and poked her teammate awake. "Sakura-chan, get up! It wasn't real. Sasuke-teme is fine." Steadily but slowly opening her eyes, when Sakura finally entered the land of the awake, she shot straight up.

"Sasuke-kun!" Staring at her affections, she brightly smiled. Offering her hand though, Naruto smiled and pulled Sakura up to her feet. "Why are you two here and not getting the bells?"

Crossing his arms, Sasuke once again continued scowling. Turning his head away, he glared metaphor holes into an innocent tree. With a sigh though at the lack of response from Sasuke, Naruto rolled her eyes and took over in explaining. "I figured out the meaning of the test. It's teamwork. We can't get the bells on our own, no matter how good we think we are." With a scoff, Sakura put her hands on her hips and furiously glared at Naruto.

"Oh really? What makes you think I'd believe you figured out the test! And how do I know you're not lying just to work with me? I bet you'd just take one of the remaining bells for yourself and leave Sasuke-kun to go back to the academy." Lifting one of her fists to hit Naruto, she paused when she heard a very audible sigh from Sasuke.

"The Dobe really did figure it out." Dropping her jaw, Naruto frowned at the lack of credibility from someone she had practically grown up with.

Crossing her arms, Naruto waited until Sakura lowered her fist and looked her in the eye. "He said there was a 33.3% chance of passing. There were 30 students in our class, with 10 teams. If everyone is taking the same test, then it doesn't add up. That's how." _'Jeez.'_ "So the test has to be teamwork, because if we're still suppose to go for the bells, then we're only going to get a real chance if we work together at least." Turning away, Naruto didn't wait for a response as she walked further into the training ground, knowingly away from the next Killpop. Following Naruto, Sakura dragged her feet in slight guilt as Sasuke continued to scowl.

"So, do either of you have a plan?" Shaking her head, Naruto once again took over. 'Sasuke is pouting too much to talk anyways.'

"I sort of do." With a shrug, she paused in walking and crouched. Using her finger to draw in the dirt, she drew an X for Kakashi, and circles for the genin 'boys', and a square for Sakura. "I thought that Sasuke and I could just distract him, as you snuck in and got the bells." Widening her eyes, Naruto grinned wildly, taking the other two by slight surprise. "My next Killpop found Kakashi. Don't turn around if you want to keep your vision this time." With a little snort and giggle, Sakura face palmed as Sasuke glared.

Looking into the trees, Naruto giggled as another loud explosion echoed not just throughout the training ground, but throughout the village, encouraging several heads to turn in shock and in a few cases, horror at the site of it peaking over the trees.

As Sakura's face dropped at the realization of this explosion being bigger, her face began to flush in anger. "Naruto! That could kill him!"

Shrugging, Naruto sat Indian-style on the ground. "He said to come with the intent to kill, and I am. If I do end up killing him, then he doesn't deserve to be jounin anyways. Besides, we shouldn't be focusing on what I'm doing, we should get going. We're running out of time." Pointing at the sky, everyone frowned.

The day itself was beautiful yes, but the three knew that if they failed, their day, and maybe even whole next year would be ruined. Muttering grumpily, Sasuke finally began participating. "It's just a tiny bit after 11. We need to finish this." All glancing at each other, Sakura and Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I'll go hide in some of the shrubs, and wait for when he's distracted."

Taking the position as leader, Sasuke began walking away, turning back to gesture to Naruto and give advice to Sakura. "If you have any genjutsu that's realistic, use it to cover you or to throw him off." With hearts appearing in her eyes once more, Sakura smiled love struck and shook her head wildly. "Yes, Sasuke-kun!"

Turning to her, Naruto gave a thumbs up to Sakura. "He's by the biggest oak tree, near the river." With a nod of understanding, both Naruto and Sasuke blurred from her view, as she shook her head and determinedly began to cover herself with simple foliage, as she zigzagged her way toward their sensei's position.

Naruto and Sasuke though, were slowly jumping through the trees, attempting to make as little sound as possible to keep the element of surprise. Arriving on the edge of the clearing, they could see a singed Kakashi Hatake. Standing with his back straight, his one eye was twitching with irritation as glared into the river water. Missing one shoe, he was shaking soot off his green flak vest. On the leg with the missing shoe, there were faint lines of first degree burns, easily exposed due to his pant leg being absolutely obliterated in the first explosion. While his sleeves were only covered in soot with a few holes, his hair itself had gone from silver to a pitch black. Leaning over and whispering in Sasuke's ear, Naruto did her best to keep absolutely quiet.

"He's fought both Sakura and me, but not you. Do your best to keep his attention. I'll sneak in when he's about to kick your ass, yeah?" With a displeased glance, Sasuke nodded and launched himself toward the irritated jounin. Launching herself backwards, away from the two apparent prodigies, Naruto attempted to control her chakra, keeping it hidden as she summoned her angelic death wings to form. Twisting herself around to fly through the trees easier, she roughly circled the area. Performing several kage no bunshin on the way, all hiding their own sets of chakra as they moved to the edge, disguising themselves in shadows and hiding in shrubs. With a grin, Naruto watched as each and every one grew their own sets of wings or readied paper kunais. Flying towards her original position, she awaited for an opening in between Kakashi and Sasuke during their short and personal taijutsu match.

Sitting on the branch, she swung her feet back and forth, noticing a moving shrub inch itself to the edge on the other side of the clearing.

Readying her body though at the familiar actions, she watched Kakashi use the exact move on Sasuke-throwing him into the air. Chakra launching herself directly up into the air, several of her other bushin quickly followed, catching everyone's eye. Simultaneously flapping their wings, each Naruto dropped, aiming for the shocked and frozen Hatake. Only when he tried running away, did each and every bunshin begin following him. Only the original turned and caught the falling Sasuke. Dragging him through the trees, was when the screaming swear words began by their new sensei. Dropping the only real male genin on the team, did Naruto raise herself above the trees to watch Kakashi.

Only did the words become more vugular when he tried to escape through the trees.

With a surprised kick aimed for the face, did a bombard of pasty white kunai begin. With a quick substitution for a log, did any of the kunai summoning and hunting angels relent in their attacks. Quickly in response though, did they begin to scramble to once again hide themselves in shadows and foliage, hiding their own set of chakras.

"Sakura-chan!" With a flinch, the hidden girl swung the kunai in her hand. "Sakura-chan, it's me!" Waving her own arms around, Naruto's folded wings were acting as a cloak.

"Naruto, what is going on? How do you have wings?"

With a shake of her head, Naruto grinned. "We can talk about that later, alright? We only have a little bit of time left!" With a hesitant nod from Sakura, they stood and left the bush Sakura was using to carry herself. "I can fly you directly to him, but he'll notice you."

Running her hands through her own hair, Sakura bit her lip and stared off to the side, attempting to pull out the leaves. "Well, I can change a genjutsu, to cover him, to make sure he can't see us right away?" Nodding, Naruto unfolded her wings and held her arms open. "Naruto-baka, if you touch me in a place I don't like, I will murder you myself." With a wince and audible gulp, Sakura accepted the terms and allowed her disguised teammate to hook her arms underneath her armpits and lift her into the air. Soaring to the newest battle scene, where several clones were repairing themselves with paper before they could pop, and sending constant paper kunai in exchange for their absence in the brawl. Henging to match the clones, Sakura allowed herself to be let go on the edge of the small clearing.

Running in, Sakura got the closest, using her agility to move through the clones and not be absolutely stabbed by the kunai. Plucking one of the flying paper kunai though, she awaited her chance-and sent it flying to the bells. Practically running back out of the brawl, she waited until the whole group had moved its position into the middle of the trees. Once it had though, with a smirk, she picked up both of the bells-right as the timer went off.

"Meet me at the three posts, _now!_ "

Sounding angry, the last Hatake used a very large fire dragon jutsu to dispose of each clone-and with large pops he pulled the original by the back of her jacket. Arriving on the scene, he quickly pulled ropes out of one of his many pouches, and tied Naruto to the middle post. Leaning on the other two though, Sakura and Sasuke stood. "Why am I being tied up!? I was the one who figured the test out!" Struggling in the ropes, Kakashi took several steps back.

"Yes, but you weren't the one who got the bells." Snapping their heads toward Sakura, who had raised them to tinkle in the breeze. "She gets to decide who gets to pass, and who doesn't."

It was with an unlady-like snort though, that had the lone eye of the cyclops narrow at her. "Naruto-baka did really figure it out. We all pass, or we all fail together." Setting one of the bells in the hair of her tied teammate and directly handing it to her crush, did Sakura set one hand on her hip. "So?" With an eyebrow twitching, did Naruto snicker at the damage she had purely done to their sensei.

"You still attempted to harm one of your teammates, accusing him of lying when he tried helping you." Lowering her head and hand off her hip guiltily, did he move his eye to Sasuke. "And you, from the beginning neglected your teammates, allowing them to do all the work. You didn't even assist in getting a bell at all." Only glaring in anger, Sasuke said nothing besides cross his arms, so once again he moved his eye, to the tied Naruto. " _You._ You practically did all the work. What makes any of you think you'll even work as a team?"

In the silence of the breeze, did Kakashi begin to think that he had won them over.

"No, it's your fault." Nearly snapping their necks to all stare at Naruto, did she simply grin. "We had a rough plan, that didn't work out too much because you did something we weren't expecting. Sasuke was supposed to keep your attention, I was suppose to throw you off, and Sakura was supposed to sneak in as you dealt with us." Staring into his lone eye, she continued. "Nothing is going to ever go as plan, but the fact is that we met your orders of the _two_ bells while still working together, even after it was over."

Nodding, Sakura and Sasuke turned their heads towards to their sensei and awaited his answer. Lifting his hands up, Kakashi rubbed his temples. With a defeated sigh, he said the magical words. "You guys pass. We'll meet up tomorrow, 7am sharp on the bridge again." With a poof, Kakashi disappeared.

Reappearing in his apartment, Kakashi Hatake walked toward his queen sized bed, and fell face plant onto it. After a few moments of just lying there, the man finally lifted his head and faced his only night stand. There on it currently, were 2 picture frames. One of his team, Team 7 with one himself, Obito Uchiha, Rin Inuzaka, and Minato Namikaze all posing. The second was the day of his sensei's last, celebration event. With a red haired woman, Minato had his arms wrapped around her. Beside them though, to their left was 2 other women. Mikoto Uchiha and Midori Sarutobi, hugging each other, while Midori had her head thrown back, and cake frosting smeared on her cheeks. On their right, was a younger version of the last Hatake, Fugaku and Obito standing awkwardly, while Obito shamelessly grinned. Surrounded around a large, already cut cake, that spelled out now heart-breaking words.

 _Congratulations, it's a girl!_

 _Good luck on beating the boys with sticks!_

* * *

 _Song used:_

 _The Fighter by In This Moment_

 _The characters are slightly OOC, due to slightly different events that will be exposed over time. This also contains my first ever fight scene. Woo._


	5. Animals

**Chapter 5: Animals**

The crowd was noisy and full of people, as usual.

The marketplace in Konoha was always the most booming in all of the overall ninja villages, compared to the actual civilian-based villages though, it paled in comparison. That still didn't prevent the fact that it was quite busy at all hours of the day, and almost always crowded. That only came as an irritation to those who rarely visit the marketplace itself, including several of the ninjas-due to shops that are more specific in their needs being elsewhere.

While there currently were no ninjas openly attempting to walk through the crowd, there was a henged one; named Naruto Uzumaki. Under the guise of a civilian, she was playing the part of a middle aged mom, whose child was in the Ninja Academy, graduating within the next two years. Walking into one of the many clothing stores, that held both ninja and civilian suited pieces, did the story come into play. Being directed into the right section for ninja females, did the continuously disguised Uzumaki begin sifting through. _'I guess if I can find anything worth buying, I'll actually try...'_

Sifting through the shorts, Naruto found a simple, slim black pair that ended just two inches under the knee. Checking the size, she threw them over her arm to try on later in secret, when the employee that assisted her went to the back or began assisting another customer. After several discussions with the Third Hokage, did Naruto begin to play with the idea of exposing her true gender, or at the very least having a female ninja outfit around that fit her technical position as princess of Uzu no Kuni. Only when she turns 15, will she become a technical queen. While she isn't expected to actually participate in politics as a technically refugee queen either, she is if she chooses to take on the official seat as Uzumaki Clan head.

It interested Naruto, she admitted it to jisan. Unfortunately if she were to, while being the literal last member, Clan Restoration Act would be suggested and possibly enforced later if times became desperate-demanding that she take on a husband and have at least one child with him. Quite literally flipping a table, did her jisan explain that would only come later, as you have to be at least 16 to become apart of the council as a clan head.

It comforted her quite a bit, though it didn't prevent the encouraging thoughts to expose her secret and dress the part as princess-ninja, especially since the Dayimos wife winked every time her cat from hell was returned, knowing her position, though not the actual gender.

Turning to another rack, did Naruto find another article of clothing that caught her eye. It had the same shade of black as the long shorts with puffed sleeves that adorned burnt orange tight cuffs, though was tight otherwise ended in the middle of her forearm and above her belly button. With a collar that didn't raise too high, it was also thrown over her arm with the almost pants. Pleased with it, she complemented for a few moments on whether or not she should just accept and buy what she had currently. With a little smile, Naruto came to a sweet thought. _'I should just follow what mom did...'_

Heading for the skirt racks, she pushed them around, imagining what each skirt would like with the current outfit thrown over her arm. _'Thank god for all those D rank missions.'_

Since the official genin test, Naruto only grew in her special chakra. Unfortunately, her explanation only had distanced herself from her teammates. It had brought her closer to her sensei though, as his was somewhat similar. Only being able to hold white chakra with his normal blue, it was denser and harder to control. Despite the difficulties, it still was considerably useful, though he admitted that he doesn't use it often.

While Naruto was pleased that she had practically bonded with their sensei, she was greatly displeased with her teammates reactions.

 _"That's...weird, Naruto."_

 _"Could you teach it to me?"_

With shudders following each technique, Sakura purposely tried not mentioning the ability and avoided the ninjutsu spars with the disguised member. Sasuke though, only had requested to be taught it, and became very upset when she had emphasized it being a chakra ability only passed down to Uzumaki members. The next week and a half with him afterward was spent with harsher insults, failing teamwork exercises, trading glares and brutal spars.

Lifting up one skirt that was quite simple, Naruto nodded in approval to herself. With two long slits down the sides, it itself ended another inch below the long shorts would. While it wasn't the colour of her ever changing hair, it was as her current burnt orange jacket. Throwing that as well, she glanced around the store once more. Spotting cloaks and jackets, she shrugged and decided to at least look for something to catch her eye. It came quite quickly, as it was the only uniquely made, cloak-like object. Going over the head, the neck was made up of stretchy material. The front of the cloak-like piece, immediately ended mid-breast. Only an inch and half below the stretchy collar was there a center, as from there it split and swooped down to two pointy flaps. While it didn't cover the arms at all, the back itself was similar to the front, with two long flaps that ended mid calf. It was the same exact shade of burnt orange as the skirt, and holding it into the air, did Naruto fake continuing her consideration.

Instead staring at the mirror hanging from the wall, she watched the employee that assisted her greet another customer, who appeared to have lots of questions. Quickly dropping it over her arm as well, Naruto snuck into one of the many dressing rooms, and released the henge. Quickly undressing every piece of her normal male disguise and re-dressing, did Naruto's jaw drop in shock.

 _'I really look like mom...'_ Within the almost two months since passing the exam and the release of the seal that resided on the back of her neck, her appearance had continued to change. Her spiky hair had grown longer, and slowly began to relent in its spikes. Some days, it could even be properly brushed. It now reached her shoulders completely, but was constantly covered by the black winter cap from before, continuing to hide her vibrant orange hair. Her eyes itself had gone from violet and ruby outlines, to softened dark lilac with the original azure randomly in specs and almost ripples. Though Kushina held red hair, if someone were to take away the cat-like eyes, fox whisker scars, and turned back the clock on Kushina to 12 years old, they'd be mistaken as sisters.

With shuttering breaths, Naruto continued to stare in the mirror, adorning her, now decidedly new outfit. Grinning wildly, she undressed and returned to wearing her original outfit. Henging back into the middle aged mom disguise, she peaked through the slim crack of the dressing room door to check for the employee that was assisting her. Not seeing her, she attempted to casually walk out and gathered several matching pieces to her new outfit. Walking to the register, Naruto proudly paid for it and left. Reaching her apartment, she released the jutsu and put away her clothes.

It was one of the few days off she received. The achingly obvious last Hatake had made it very clear that every once in awhile, the body should rest, which Naruto planned to do to an extent. While she wasn't going to exactly physically train, she still had several plans that worked toward her ninja career and abilities.

Before leaving her apartment earlier for clothing shopping, Naruto had left two bunshin. One to study from the fuinjutsu book, and the other to create exploding tags and storage seals, some of which that could be applied like a temporary tattoo, and others in scrolls. Glancing at both of their progress, the paper mistress picked up a book herself, on the history of Uzushiogakure, Sitting herself on her bed, she attempted to at least get comfortable before losing herself in the history.

 _The rumors on the beginning of the Uzumaki clan, begins with the Sage of Six Paths, the one who had discovered the ability to use chakra, holder of the mythical Rinnegan._

 _Having two children, named Asura and Indra, his natural ability to use chakra had passed down in Indra, despite others around them needing to search for their own. On his death bed, the Sage of Six Paths had asked his younger son Asura to carry out his dream of peace and understanding of the world, despite it's cruelty and mysterious events._

 _In his jealously though, Indra had believed he should've been chosen for it, as it was originally his promised birthright, and was later manipulated into fighting with his brother by an unknown force, unfortunately to death for the brothers._

 _Luckily, the manipulation had taken years, allowing the brothers to have several offspring that continued the feud, though not many understand why anymore._

 _Today, Indra's eventual descendants had became the Uchiha Clan, while Asura's had split into the Senju and Uzumaki._

 _Several rumors, so far collected across the world itself, have said that Asura and Indra's spirit, chakra, and will appear every few generations in Uzumaki's, Senju's, and Uchiha's respectively._

 _Though it's not clear of the myth of being descendants to the Sage of Six Paths, the fact that Uzumaki's and Senju's had shared common a common ancestor is remained to be seen as true._

 _An example is the First and Second Hokage of Konoha. Being able to pull water out of air and grow a forest with only one seed, though not being able to use their pure chakra to do so like the Uzumaki's, prove it. The personal feud between Hashirama Senju, First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, Clan Head is said to encourage both rumors, of being descendants of Asura and Indra, and being their technical reincarnations._

Pausing a moment, Naruto recounted the amount of remaining, known Senju's. Not coming up with any besides one, Naruto scowled. _'It's not as if she's coming back to Konoha anyways, living relative or not.'_ Flipping through a few pages, Naruto found one that caught her eye.

 ** _Uzu no Kuni's Royal Line_**

 _Never being one to follow the patriarchy system, men and women have been able to rule with no problem in inequality, while other nations have always looked down upon it. Compared to those other nations though, the trend of following a royal line rather than elected daimyos, started from the Wasteland Era. After the nuclear war, survivors had always banded together, and for a short while, those residing on the islands of Uzu no Kuni had followed through with electing officials, or at least until a group of survivors that called themselves the Wolves had joined._

 _Tipping the polls and unfortunately electing corrupted officials, the islands had erupted into civil war. There were multiple sides, all fighting for the same reason with different views. It wasn't until 15 years into the war, did chakra users begin migrating into the population. One of them, was a Haru Uzumaki. Using an ability similar to Wood Release, she was able to create much more dangerous and lethal, plants._

 _It's said that she herself took down the original Wolves gang, summoning a pit of giant Venus plant traps._

 _Scarred at the manipulation of the population's right, Haru Uzumaki was claimed Queen of the then named Caribbean Islands. Using her ability, she temporarily built a bridge to the main land, and brought her large family over. Her own brother Satoru, a lightning manipulator, encouraged by the rumors of a ninja village being made by the Senju's and Uchiha's, was the leading voice in the crowd for their own ninja village -meant to not protect just its own civilians, but the island as a whole._

 _Not solely convinced, it took years and her first born son to seal the deal. Prince, though later in life, King Yuu Uzumaki was a proud manipulator of water. Though not honing his ability to his complete potential, he had created the forever whirlpools, preventing hundreds and later thousands of attacks and giving the Islands the title of Uzu no Kuni, the Land of Whirlpools._

 _After witnessing several of attacks be prevented did Queen Haru allow a ninja village to be built. Following the lead of the closely connected, standing tall Konoha in the Land of Fire, she and her father together had created the Village's council. Made up of considerably important and influential civilians and ninjas of the like, allowing them and the current royalty to vote themselves on who should take the role as Village Leader, was the final touches on Uzushiogakure._

With an amazed sigh, Naruto put the book back down, and laid flat on her bed, and stared at the ceiling. Popping her clones, she heard her stomach growl.

Though waking up around noon itself, and it being around 4 when she had left to go shopping, it itself was now nearing 6. While living in the Land of Fire, there wasn't too much of a Winter besides a slight frost and an odd day with a few centimeters, the sun still seemed to go down around the same time as always, at 7pm. Lifting herself up, she grabbed her Gama-chan pouch and took her time walking to her favorite ramen stand. While the sun wasn't setting just yet, the sun itself was beginning to lower itself behind several clouds, its rays just barely peaking over the more taller buildings of Konoha. Arriving to the stand, she easily walked through the curtains to the almost empty stand.

Besides the usual Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, there was one more customer. Ignoring him, Naruto took her seat and smiled wildly at the happy daughter.

"Ohayo Naruto! How are you today?"

With a casual shrug, she answered. "I'm alright. Today we got a day off, so I've just been relaxing and sitting around. What about you?"

Spinning and assumingly grabbing the other customers bowl, she began adding the finishing touches. "Pretty busy! Monday's and Friday's are always the busiest days, who woulda thought? What can I get you though?"

"Just 2 misos, a shrimp and a beef please!" With a cheerful nod, Ayame repeated the order to a smiling Teuchi, as if he knew his favorite customer had arrived by just the two misos.

Watching Ayame continue cooking, Naruto watched her even deliver it to the only other person in the booth.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Slightly hunched over the counter, now putting his smut book away, did the sensei of Team 7 acknowledge his own student. "Maa, I never knew one of my cute little genin liked ramen."

Furrowing her brow, Naruto immediately knew he was lying. Having invited her fellow genin mates out to ramen several times, she was repeatedly rejected by them both in front of the man. Finding it too awkward to ask their much older sensei without at least the others attending, she normally shook off the idea.

Turning his head toward the staring genin, he allowed his exposed eyebrow to rise. "You alright there, Naruto-chan?"

Knocked out of her suspicious thoughts, Naruto's jaw dropped. "Naruto-chan!? You add kun to Sasuke!"

With a small chuckle, Kakashi snapped apart his chopsticks and muttered a small thanks. "Yes, but he's not as cute as you and Sakura are. He's all mean and mopey." Face desking quite hard, Naruto let out a sigh and hid the blush on her cheeks at being called cute. Raising it once more, she turned back to her odd teacher and noticed his empty bowl with a moving back into place mask.

"Did you seriously just eat all of that?" With a nod, she threw her head back at his response. _'All that just to hide his face?'_ At the arrival of her first two miso bowls, she muttered a thanks and began to inhale her own. _'Then again, I wear all this stuff to hide my actual appearance and gender.'_

Never leaving his stool, Kakashi once again pulled out his book and continued to read as his student continuously consumed her own dinner. Finally pulling back from the four bowls, the last two being added in the amidst of her consumption, she allowed a small burp to let loose. Reaching into one of his many pockets, he pulled out several bills and laid them on the counter in between each other, though in view of Ayame. "It's on me." With surprised, though mostly hidden eyes, Naruto smiled and thanked him with tinted red ears. Standing together in unison, Kakashi had waved goodbye while Naruto had thanked them for the meal and promised to visit tomorrow again.

Walking out, Naruto paused awkwardly outside the stand. "Sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to get some ramen with me sometime? Because I've always wanted to go as a team, but without Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme, it'd just be us and that'd be, ya know." Gesturing between the two and wiggling her fingers, Kakashi had come to understand. While being a technical adult once one receives their headband, there were few restrictions but more of expectations for dos and don'ts by their own community. Several of those expectations came with relationships and harmful vices.

Konoha itself, didn't mind a relationship between the student and teacher, though several looked down upon it if one of the participants were considered too young.

"But I mean, do you want to just to, ya know?"

 _'Hang out.'_

"I understand what you mean, but that sounds pleasant." With a growing, sweetly genuine smile on her face, the sun finally began to set.

"Alright! Cool! Yeah, thanks sensei!" Standing tall, her face began beaming once more. "So, I have another question, if it's alright?" Putting his book down, though not away, Kakashi allowed an eyebrow to raise and nod.

"Why do you wear that mask?"

"Most likely the same reason you wear your hat and goggles." The silver-headed man instantly knew it was the wrong answer as the smile began to drop. Searching into her hidden eyes, he wondered what exactly was happening for her to have begin hiding her notable features.

Having seen her while she was growing up, she was a miniature Minato Namikaze. Down to the tee, she was even throwing pranks, but the Uzumaki side in her had began to show and bloom quickly. _'That's probably why nobody has figured out whose child she is.'_

It wasn't just the gender that was hidden, though Kakashi himself didn't completely know the truth of that. The ultrasound had claimed she was a girl, but not being there in person for it, when he was told that Naruto Uzumaki was born a boy, he had tried to believe the machine was flawed. While a name was just a name, and Namikaze would've set off radars across the world due to his reputation, Uzumaki's were very secretive and not at the same time. Everyone knew Kushina was pregnant, but nobody knew who the father was. It should've been spotted a mile away by everyone, that Kushina had a child that looked like the only Namikaze she worked well with, but a peculiar theory had made itself around Konoha.

 _"The only reason the boy and Namikaze-sama share the same features, is because of the sealing..."_

It had made him facepalm. Of course the civilians would begin such a rumor with their dislike for the child, though for ninjas to believe it, most that were raised to look underneath the underneath, was ridiculous.

That's what several of the ninja population gets though for not at least learning how to do a basic sealing.

It was when she hung her head, and the awkward silence that ensured, answered his question.

 _'The seal on her neck.'_

Being there on the night that she had stolen the forbidden scroll, he himself had also discovered the seal on her neck, that in the past was always hidden by her wild hair. Knowing the use of the seal, quickly made him want to sigh and bash his head into a lamp post.

 _'Her appearance is changing.'_

"How about, before we get that ramen next time, we spend a little one on one time training together? I can help you with any difficulties you're having." Her head had completely swung back up at that.

He knew she was shocked, mainly because of her unique chakra, he could only offer suggestions on possibilities and jutsu's. Compared to Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto was the most difficult to train, despite her endless opportunities. Sasuke at least could gain the sharingan which he already had in one eye, whereas Sakura needed much help on even getting herself into proper shape and a specific direction to point in for her to choose an official specialty.

Taking a few moments to even respond, other than the break necking speeds of her head snapping up, she wildly nodded. "Yeah, sensei that's sounds great!" Eye smiling, the Hatake was pleased to fix the little damage he had done. Patting her head, he began nudging her to turn towards the direction of her apartment.

"Maa, well we have several missions to take on tomorrow, and you need all the sleep you can get."

Wiggling, she had manually removed his hand from her cap, and held it in both of her hands as she smiled softly up at him. "Thanks sensei. See you tomorrow!" Letting go, Naruto stuck her hands in her pockets and began walking to her apartment. Watching her go though, Kakashi allowed the tingle in his hand to remain as he pretended to return to his book. When she had finally turned a corner and left his view, he himself turned and headed to his own apartment.

* * *

 _The room was bouncing, constantly pulsing._

 _Everyone was moving to the music, and to the beat of the their own hearts, with thoughts they wanted to get rid of._

 _The building I had entered was a club. There was no denying of that. Civilians and even ninjas were prone to dance with drinks to help them forget whatever that was chasing them, though it would always return the next morning with any new regret they made, but the idea of forgetting for now only encouraged several to continue their typical sinful actions._

 _I wasn't here to join them tonight, as only one male had been encouraging the thoughts of anyone joining me in my pants really._

 _Tonight, I was on a bit of a seductive mission. Walking around the crowd, I had arrived to another door with a bouncer. Paying him and wiggling my cleavage, I had been allowed to pass and enter the door. Behind that door, were rickety wooden stairs._

 _Down those stairs though, was another door with a cherry red velvet curtain, hooked to the side. Lifting it slowly, I began swaying my hips as I walked through._

 _Tobacco_ _and a damp skunk-like smell, drafted through the air. The room itself was quite large, with a fuzzy, dark grayed carpet that muffled my heels. The sweetly, mahogany red paneled walls with black outlines, had several of the same cherry red velvet curtains hanging, drooping from hook to hook. The ceiling itself could barely be seen through the smoke, but was a few shades darker than the carpet. The walls were lined with randomly placed couches, with a chair or two and a table placed in front of them. There were randomly placed, barely clothed participants placed all over the room, all wealthy and successful through legal and illegal means._

 _The deeper I went into the room, the filthier their actions were becoming. Pausing just a moment, I watched a busty blonde sit facing away from her partner, spreading her legs as she raised and lowered her body in a steady but constant rhythm. Aside from his legs, the only thing that could be seen was his meat stick and hands, kneading her breast. Noticing me watching, the busty blonde blew a kiss and a wink._

 _On the other end of the room, Kaori Hoki of the popular Hoki clan of Suna, was on her hands and knees, with a man underneath her and above her, roughly taking their time as she giggled and staring into a portable video camera, clearly high out of her mind._

 _Continuing my way, I could feel myself get warmer below at the thought of committing such acts myself. Arriving on my supposed client, the one and only Nobuo Ryuu._

 _He ran several sex rings and whore houses across the world, and quite a few banks himself. When people took out a loan, the interest would shoot up insanely, making it impossible to pay. In exchange, the women or men would sell themselves or their children to the neighboring whore house to pay off the loan. Those who sold their children, were apparently offered a deal though. They'd get to keep their children, if they were to have special and specifically directed intercourse in the main hall of the more proper whore houses, in front of those watching._

 _Not many rejected that offer, unfortunately. Several reports by the civilians forces contained the continued acts by those that have accepted the offer, and even more reports on orgies that approves of the molesting on their own children._

 _It all started with this one man. With wild black hair, his eyes were a bright gold shade. Matching, golden tanned skin, he stood at 6'1 with a lean body. Watching the crowd through hazey smoke, it didn't take much for him to give me attention._ _A civilian was still a civilian. Acting shy, I had promised that if we were to get our own room in a motel, then I'd let him film me all he wanted for personal use. It wasn't before I had him consume much more alcohol and smoke more of this substance nicknamed "Mary Jane" though that I had made the promise and we were leaving._

 _Making our way on the barren streets of the civilian village, he hadn't noticed the blur jumping on the roof tops._

 _Making little stops on the way to the motel I had suggested, I allowed him to shower me in compliments, rub my body and kiss my neck. Reaching the edge of the town though, I had giggled and dragged him into the forest, wanting a little show of what "fun I'd be having" with him._

 _Once going deep enough in his standards, he attempted to drop his pants. Stepping back, I snorted and allowed the little roof-top blur to take care of him for me._

 _Shliiick._

 _"Kushina-neechan, why didn't you do it?"_

 _Above the body of the gross man, was a silver-haired male. With a mask that following down into his makeshift vest, I crossed my arms and stared at him. "Because if he wasn't completely wasted, he would've noticed you."_ _With a wince, the child stared down at the body. "Kakashi-kun, I know you're trying hard, but you're only 9 years old. You'll get better." With visible disappointment in himself, I stepped around the body and hugged him, despite his stiffening muscles._

* * *

 _ **Naruto POV**_

 _'Well, fuck.'_ Blinking at the ceiling above me, I tried to will away the sleep that still wanted to pull me back into its sweet, loving, hug...

 _'Okay, Naruto Uzumaki, you need to get your ass out of bed.'_ Forcing myself to sit up, I stretched my arms above my head and looked at the alarm clock.

After learning of Kakashi-sensei's habit of always being at least 3 hours late, I tried to make it a thing to wake up a hour and a half after the original time he had set. Waking up only minutes before the alarm was set to go off, I rolled my eyes and pulled myself out of bed properly. While yesterday was an assigned and required lazy day off, today wasn't. While every other day was a mission or personal training day, Kakashi always attempted to at least put in a teamwork exercise after the bunch of missions we do, and only one or two missions are actually picked on our training days.

Unfortunately, sensei thinks it's especially great training for us to chase after the demon cat. Whatever though.

Walking around the room, I began my morning routine of undressing, eating, showering, and re-dressing. It was as though I opened my closet and saw the girl outfit, that I faltered. I felt encouraged to be more girly, by just outright exposing myself. I had gotten an outfit, jisan had the information on my file readied to be updated when I said the word, but I just...

Didn't know what to do really. Things will change, opinions and actions. Word would get around, political figures and moves will come into play, people will attempt to manipulate to get what they want like they did with Indra and Asura.

I didn't even know how to make it clear that won't have my teammates get angry.

Maybe, maybe I could just start off slow? Sit down, tell one of them? That'd end in chaos, since we had visited a bathhouse and I had joined the guys on their side.

I really, don't know. Deciding fuck it though, I grabbed my usual outfit and put it on slowly. _'I'll just ask for jisan's opinion.'_

Pulling on my cap and goggles though, I stared into the full body mirror in silence. _'Kakashi knew my mom, huh? Who would've known...'_ Crossing my arms, I continued to stare. _'Does he actually know that she's my mother, or thinks it's just a coincidence that I share the last name? Or maybe, they were only assigned together during some missions, but were pals?'_ Turning my body to only check the time, I sighed and decided that it was about time to meet up with the team. Attaching my kunai pouch onto my leg, I stepped out of my somewhat messier than usual apartment and locked the door. While I still had a full hour and a few odd minutes left before sensei arrived, it only encouraged me to take my sweet time.

Before falling asleep last night, I was once again sifting through one of the several history books that were given to me by jisan. While I wasn't expected to be dragged into the world of politics when I'm crowned Queen at 15, I would only be expected to become apart of the council in Konoha at 16 if I took on the role of Clan Head, but I could take the role itself earlier. It was a tricky subject, as since the fall of Uzushiogakure and the hiding of all Uzumaki's, nobody had taken on the title. It was practically in free rein of whoever wanted it with the blood to prove it, as it's not like we could follow the original line without knowing who survived or not.

I'm considering it though.

Uzumaki's are treated as mythical objects, monstrous to godlike with whoever you're asking. Never the truth is told in those stories, but the more recent generations are only told bed time stories of great summoners of water in their palms, breeding animals for the newest animal contracts, the marches of obsolete boots, forever elusive even in practical extinction. I've seen the double looks, the take backs when my name is said by the other kids. It wasn't just the monster kid, it was the last name.

Mom, was Kushina Uzumaki, the Red-Hot Habanero. People feared her and her chains, knew of her everywhere. Even during an escort mission for jisan himself at an annual meeting of the kages with Minato Namikaze as the other escort, had the kages frozen to their seats.

 _"Why, you didn't think they'd forget us, did you? It's not as if we're the best two for keeping your villages in line."_

 _"You act as if your people are still alive, girl."_

 _"Not all, due to some filthy cretins, but if I can recall correctly, someone still lost 71.4% of their ninjas and one of their jinchuuriki within the first week."_

People knew her and her rank, of her abilities and though the bingo book was detailed, nobody could take her down. It was a constant reminder of the apparent _threat_ that Kumo did the world a favor of getting rid of. What bullshit. Since her passing though, Kumo had made several attempts at crippling Konoha once again. Kidnapping the Hyuuga heiress, making unjust demands, and at the sound of the B and A ranking missions that my team is never given, they've been attempting to capture traders, merchants and farmers that are more prone to sell in Hi no Kuni than other countries.

Now just imagine their reaction if her 'hidden' daughter were to reveal herself and her special inheritance in a key moment, taking on the title of Clan Head and calling everyone into the open? I'm getting chills at just the idea.

"Naruto-baka! You're LATE!"

"Gah! I know Sakura-chan!" Throwing my arms up in the air, I had arrived to a fuming pair of duck butt lovers. Within the two months of being on this team, you'd have figured that Kakashi-sensei was never going to arrive on time, and that coming a bit late yourself by either spending extra time training or sleeping in would be the better option instead of sitting and doing nothing.

Knowing Sakura and Sasuke though, they probably don't because I did it first.

Leaning against the railing was a pouting Sasuke, and next to him was an upset Sakura, slightly facing him. Taking my usual place, sitting on the railing next to Sasuke, I once again lost myself in my thoughts.

In several of my personal jutsu's, my list was becoming longer and my tactics were growing. The main problem I was having currently was deciding on a taijutsu. Ejecting myself into the air and sending an army with or without wings, all with individual goals and fingers ready for a technique is nice and all, being my own seven nation army really, but they get popped in seconds if they can't defend themselves properly. While there was Maito Gai, Konoha's taijutsu expert-he's still a crazy ass nut.

The library itself did hold styles and technique's, there were none above C-rank and nothing unique. Donating graciously, the clans had only donated enough for clanless ninjas to get themselves started without sharing their own secrets. In the village, where almost all clans regard themselves as acquaintances or practical enemies, it's no surprise. The only clans here that could be considered complete allies, were Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka. Forming the elite capture squad, the official name was Ino-Shika-Cho trio. As it turns out, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were the newest generation under Asuma Sarutobi, enlisted as Team 10. Besides them, Inuzaka's and Aburame's were normally closely aligned with their own abilities in tracking, with an odd Hyuuga here and there.

It was noted as to never put a Senju with an Uchiha, or a Hyuuga with an Uchiha though.

"Yo."

"YOU'RE LATE!"

 _"Noglastic."_

 _Dropping both Kunais as her shaking began to worsen, she looked up to see who had read the seal out loud._

 _A white Dog ANBU mask staring down at her, with silver fluff sticking about above it. Reaching out a hand, he silently offered to help her up._

 _"Run Uzumaki!"_

 _"Congratulations Uzumaki on making genin."_

I couldn't help but freeze at the realization. ' _Oh, that fucking bitch. He knew the whole time! He wouldn't have said anything if he was just doing his job as actual ANBU!'_ Crossing my arms, I glared at the silver haired man as both he and Sakura glanced over in surprise, as Sasuke only raised an eyebrow at my lack of sync of yelling at our late sensei.

"A black cat had crossed my path so..." Trailing off awkwardly, I knew he was set off by my turn in attitude since our meal last night. Not even bothering to finish off his excuse, he coughed into his covered fist and scratched the back of his head. "Well then, let's head over to the missions office, shall we?"

The silence was awkward, and I knew it was because of me. Most mornings would start out with me coming late, being yelled at Sakura, though when sensei arrived, we'd yell together and with a boink on my head, Sakura would say I was too, anyways. Then giving us an excuse, Kakashi-sensei would let out an estranged giggle as once again in sync, Sakura and I would accuse him of being a liar. Shooing us, acting as though we were three rough-housing goats or sheep, he'd steadily direct us to the missions office and attempt to keep a leash on whatever we decided to argue about that day. Today though, I kept my arms crossed and took lead. With the rest of the team either eyeing my back or staring off in every other direction but me, we made it in a new record of time.

Unfortunately, the awkward silence had followed us into the missions room, and soon those at the desk were attempting to direct their attention everywhere but us, by shuffling their papers around, spending extra time on another report, or out-right excusing themselves for coffee. With a soft cough though, Iruka and the 3rd Hokage themselves had resigned to assisting us with finding our next mission.

"Babysitting the Baroki's children, painting a fence, walking the hounds, assisting with grocery shopping, catching the Daiymo's cat-"

"No!" Lifting my chin, I took my stand as Iruka's jaw dropped. "We've been doing D ranked missions for 2 months now, and while we're assigned them to allow us to connect with citizens and to help grind in teamwork, we're the only rookie genin team that does at least two missions almost everyday! We should at least get a chance to test ourselves!"

I know I'm just redirecting my itching frustrations, but at least it was on something sort of productive.

Or whatever.

"Naruto, I know you're hoping to move forward, but the rankings are there to..." I honestly stopped paying attention there.

It takes a week to process most ninja-related requests. On the night of Mizuki's betrayal, ANBU member Dog was clearly a man that had gratifying silver hair, slanted. The only reported, recent man with that type of hair was my own sensei. Paperwork can take awhile to get through, since it needed to go through a system. If a jounin wanted to become an ANBU member though, it'd be sent through from the Jounin Commander himself, to the Hokage, as ANBU were the elite guards under the kage.

It's not the same way backwards though. You don't lose your rank when you become a Hunter-nin or an ANBU, since genin, chunin and jounin were default ranks. Anyone can reach those really, but Hunter-nin, ANBU, Sannin and kage were all some that depended on your individual self. So, say when an ANBU member or Hunter-nin wanted to quit their special force, since they're under the direct Kage's command, the paperwork would simply be filled out by the kage, and since they're very busy people-it can take up to a week. You'd be notified if it was taking longer otherwise.

During that one week period, until that signature is placed, you cannot go back to your original duties, some of which are still optional.

One, for example is jounin sensei.

As in that fucking silver haired man standing beside me, put that mask back on temporarily.

"Naruto, are you even paying attention!?

Shrugging, I didn't even bother grinning. "Ne, sensei what kind of ramen do you think I should get next?"

 _ **SLAM**_

All heads in the room had turned, because a sight you don't see everyday is when famed Academy Instructor Iruka Umino is just slamming his own head down on his desk.

"Iruka my boy, don't worry. Let me take care of it." Simply patting the chunin's back, the Third Hokage allowed his hands to fold onto the desk in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, my grandfather figure winked. "Kakashi, do you think the brats are ready?"

"Yes I do, Hokage-sama."

In seconds, a C-ranked scroll was tossed into the air, and was caught by the silver haired fuck face.

"A bridge builder needs guards as he returns to his homeland and finishes the bridge that will connect him to the homeland," and with a snap of his fingers towards the visible ANBU guards, was a large, clearly drunken man. "Team 7, meet Tazuna."

Standing at roughly 5'8, he was wearing a rough but simple brown tunic. Matching capri pants, and a rice hat that had a loose string hanging under his chin. Beaten up civilian sandals adorned his feet, as thick framed glasses sat on his nose, almost constantly falling off. With darker but spiky graying hair, a bag covered beer bottle rested in his hand. "Eugh, these are the brats that are meant to protect me?" Sloshing the bottle around, he took another swig as the scent finally began hitting my nose. "They look like pipsqueeks! Especially the one with the goggles..."

Raising my left hand, I could feel the Hatake fuck-face rest one of his on my shoulder. Rolling my eyes, I allowed my hand to disparate into complete paper. With a drunk hiccup, Tazuna adjusted his glasses and out-right ogled. Allowing the paper to fold itself into miniature crows, I watched them swoop and swing around in the air before they returned to their proper place in my skin. "I assure you, my students are quite talented. Even if they weren't, I'm a jounin."

"I, understand," lifting himself up, the bridge builder nodded, as if to reassure himself of something. "Well, these brats better be ready to protect me with their lives, alright!?"

The fuck-faces hand was warm, and comforting despite being covered in cloth and my irritation at him knowing whose child I was and still never being there for me. But, it was nice. "Alright. We'll meet up at the East Gate in two hours. Pack for a months trip, say your goodbyes, that kind of thing." With a nod from all of us, one of the last connections to my parents had released my shoulder and shooed me out of the room with a drunken fart, an avenger and his fangirl. Silently we all went our separate ways.

Most likely not being able to get one on one time with jisan within only two hours for his opinion on what to do, I begrudgingly accepted it and when I arrived to my apartment, I began to pack my items.

Controlling the personal explosive tags and allowed them to get lost in my own origami folds, I picked up my brushes and painted a seal on the inside of my right arm. Grinning in silent pride, I packed a fresh set of shiny kunai and shuirken, more explosion tags, a sleeping bag and matching tent, several cup of ramens, one of my books on fuinjutsu, though I faltered when I opened my closet.

Biting my lip, I stared into the tiny storage space.

On the floor was my old jumpsuit and old standard ninja shoes. Having found a pair of old civilization boots, I've been wearing them with pride each day. With sloppily hung, baggy black and orange clothes on the left side, the new clothes sat neatly on the right. Scowling, I gave in. Starting at my goggles, I ripped my outfit off, ending with my cover up boxers that sat above normal panties. While never wearing a bra, I kept with that as I began pulling on the long shorts. Pulling my boots back on, I untangled my headband from my hat and goggles.

Tying it around my forehead, I stared into the mirror once more on the outside of my closet door. The long, odd cloak-like piece swayed with each movement. The skirt was thin enough in between my legs to not hassle my running or jumping, and the fluffed sleeves spared room for cleverly hidden, spare kunai. Having sown an Uzumaki symbol to the left breast on the cloak, I looked like a fantasy princess asskicking ninja from the movies.

It was perfect, even more so when I tried to pull out my origami wings. Lifting the back of the cloak up, chakra used through the clothing only enlarged and thickened it, turning the wings into thick orange, pointy sets. Throwing a few more extra pieces of my current outfit into the seal, I had also packed my old outfit of black shirt and orange shorts, more as pajamas than anything. Looking around my small apartment one last time, I couldn't remember anything else other than to bring my Gama-chan. Henging into my original outfit, I walked out of my apartment, locking it behind me.

Having no one to say goodbye to that wasn't there during the mission briefing, I actually arrived early to the East Gate, and sat on a randomly scattered bench, waiting. It wasn't that long though, maybe five minutes later that the almighty 'last' Uchiha had arrived and sat next to me. Not saying anything other than a hn as a greeting, an almost awkward silence took over once again.

My Godmother has an excuse on why she isn't around, though I still hadn't met her myself. Being apart of one of the most influential clans in Konoha at the moment and a powerful kunouchi all on her own, grieving can do things to you. As long as she still doesn't continue, pretending I don't exist or whatever, I can forgive her for it. I hadn't heard my Godfather's excuse yet, but for someone that was closely connected to one of my parents not being there, despite residing in the same village for years, pisses me off. Sensei or not, you don't just ignore your apparent nee-chan's kid!

Feeling someone walk closer rather than hearing, I turned my head and watched Sakura and Tazuna from the distance. Talking softly, I could just barely hear their conversation through my sensitive ears. Discussing the demographics around the Land of Wave, where Tazuna was from and building the bridge, I could see Sakura soak in the information.

From the way he was walking though, he was suspicious of his surroundings. Not so much aware, but he was at least more sober than earlier.

As though he was expecting a ghost to pop up from behind and scare him to death, either the thugs prayed on everyone in large groups on the way, leaving no survivors or there was just a lot of crime in his own land to make him this paranoid.

"Yo."

Snapping our heads to the sound of the familiar voice, our sensei was crouched onto the back of the bench Sasuke-teme and I were sitting on. Stopping in her steps though, Sakura was the only one who spoke. "Y-You're on time..." Standing up from his odd position, his shadow fell across me, blocking the sun from my view completely. With a shiver up my spine though, I could feel myself heat up in between my legs. _'He's above me...'_ Stepping down onto the seat of the bench though, he patted my head and walked towards the gate.

"Naruto-baka where is your pack?" Having shaken herself out of the shock of Kakashi arriving on time first, Sakura was also the first to notice my lack of backpack. Turning to her, I pulled down my henged sleeve, and showed her the seal. I could see the slight disgust on her face, and I knew she was assuming that it was another ability of my paper when it was just fuinjutsu.

With a clap of his hands though, we all turned our attention to the frustratingly annoying jounin. "Well, now that we're all here, let's do a diamond formation around Tazuna. Sakura leading, Sasuke on left, Naruto on right and I'll take back."

Taking our positions, we slowly left Konoha at civilian pace. _'I could just summon a whole bunch of clones, fly us all the way there..'_ The only conversation there was, was held between Sakura, Tazuna, and Kakashi-sensei. Though once it hit on our own experiences in traveling, I was the only one who hadn't said anything.

Tazuna had traveled to the Hidden Mist Village, several gambling and civilian cities in the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning, due to their closeness. Sakura had lived in the Hidden Village of the Sand for quite a while when she was younger, and apparently finding the citizens there quite frightening, had moved back to Konoha, visiting and staying in the Land of Rivers in between. Sasuke, in his short life with his family, had visited the Land of Iron and Tea Country. Kakashi-sensei, in his mysterious ways, apparently managed to visit most of the big five countries and their ninja capitols.

It struck me soon after though that the reason why I never left the village was because I wasn't allowed to.

* * *

 _Ohh my._

 _Shit is getting interesting._

 _Regarding the existence of Konan of Akatsuki, don't worry. In the world of politics and double meanings, no one is original. ;)_


	6. With Regret

_**Chapter 6: With Regret**_

In the middle of a warm country, on a small and dusty road walked a small party of five were walking along. Standing backs straight, the youngest three of the group paid attention to their surroundings, as the two oldest walked at least visibly relaxed. While the vegetation around the was flourishing and basking in the gently demanding sunlight, the road was allowing a small kick of dust to pick up with each step the travelers made.

The silver-haired man of the group had his face in an orange cover book and his other hand in a pocket. Walking at the back of the diamond shape the members made, he could see with his one eye all of the members. Directly in front of him, was the becoming once again drunk, aging Bridge Builder. To the left of Mr. Drunk was a raven haired boy, constantly brooding despite the wonderful weather. Peaking out from in front of the Builder was a pink haired girl, who was softly humming in her walking. Her mood and attitude for the mission were on matched the great sun, despite her remaining teammate normally taking that place. Then again, that remaining teammate walking to the right of the Builder seemed to be mighty pissed off with the silver-haired man.

 _'What did I do exactly?'_

Despite trying to keep up her mood and participation of the last conversations, the gender-disguised member of Team 7 was upset.

Only about four people still alive had known at least one of her parents so far. One of those people, was her own damn sensei and yet he never said a thing. _'Is he waiting for me to ask?'_ Crossing her arms, she decided to go for it, right then and there.

After all, she had to get the word out.

"Kakashi-sensei?" It wasn't just his attention she caught in the end. Faltering in her steps, Sakura attempted to catch herself before anyone else noticed. Sasuke dropped his arms and stared from the corner of his eye, and Tazuna outright turned his head to stare at the smallest ninja in the group. While Tazuna noticed the awkward and sometimes tense air, he knew it wasn't normal from his brief conversation with the only exposed kunoichi.

"Yes Naruto?"

Not pausing in her walking, Naruto threw her hands up behind her head, taking up her old habit when nervous. "How did you know my mom?"

At the question, Sasuke frowned as Sakura's brow furrowed. Turning his own head back to the road, Tazuna didn't question the randomness of the conversation. "She was friends with my own sensei, when I was a chunin." Allowing silence to take over to the group once again, Kakashi connected the dots. _'She's beginning to figure it out. She was probably showed a confusing memory...'_ Simply staring at the page in the book, he allowed little peaks at his sensei's daughter and awaited for any new questions. One did come though, but not from Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei, why did you still have a sensei when you were a chunin and who was he?" Only turning her head temporarily, Sakura's face was scrunched in with confusion. Deciding to give them a brief lesson on himself, he lowered his book and stared at the ground ahead.

"We were in the middle of the War and my training partner turned sensei, Minato Namikaze was assigned two genin to take on missions with."

"Your sensei was the Yondaime Hokage!?" Earning ogling looks from Tazuna, Sakura, and a slightly interested glance from Sasuke, the look from Naruto only manifested into suspicion. Having the group come to a stop, Kakashi allowed himself to nod and shrug.

"You know, we were technically Team 7 until I became a jounin." _'And everyone started dying,'_ he added silently. Waving his hand in the air, he eye-smiled. "Why'd we stop? Can't we walk and chat?" With wild nods from half the group, Naruto continued to stare in pure stillness until the jounin walked forward and patted her shoulder.

As if awakening from a daze, she stared into the lone eye and with a simple blink, the look was gone. Silently turning and entering her position beside Tazuna, she crossed her arms in front of her, which earned her own look of suspicion from Sasuke. _'What exactly is going on?'_

* * *

Back in Konoha, the weathered Hokage sat behind the almost cleared desk. Taking a momentous break, the man swirled around in his chair. Stopping at the large bay windows behind him, he stared out at to the village. Folding his hands on his lap, his thoughts traveled from the tall monument and all the way to the trees peaking over the gates. Slowly spinning back around, the old monkey reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a unique request form.

 **Ninja Information Request Form**

 **Name:** _Naruto Uzumaki_

 **Village:** _Konohagakure_

 **DOB:** _10/10/183_

 **Ninja Rank:** _Genin_

 **Request of change:** _Gender on Ninja_ _Identification_

 **Reason of change:** _Is actually a female_

 **Signature of Approval:**

 _'It's not as if anyone needs a birth certificate for a Ninja Identification Card anyways._ ' Finishing the form, the man placed it in the going out pile. _'She'll thank me.'_

* * *

 _'There's two people ahead of us...'_ With a furrowed brow, Naruto allowed her need of expression to break free despite her bubbling frustrations. _'They're hiding.'_ Raising her chin up, she noticed the dust picked up by the members in her group and the shallow water puddles several yards ahead. _'Are we going up against fucking morons?'_ Waiting until they were much closer, did Naruto let herself fall out of formation and peer down at the puddle with her arms behind her back.

"Ne ne, stupid-kun and stupid-chan, do you think we're fucking as stupid as you?" Swinging her arms forward with her palms forward, two missing Kiri nin raised out of the puddles. Bitch and pimp slapping them both, her hands disaparated as Sakura squeaked in surprise with Kakashi just sighing at the brute tactics. Allowing her arms to flutter into paper, she quickly sent them forward as the two men tried to regain their bearings.

With a metal chain hooking them together, the paper manipulator sighed herself. "Paper Trail: Fox Burrow!" Being completely caught off guard by the paper and name, the men attempted to shoot their own kunai at Naruto and the bridge builder-which all have missed but one. Having been ready, Sasuke had only moved his own knife to block it while Naruto took it through the stomach. Hunching over momentarily, the men had ignored her missing limbs that transformed into small foxes. Fortunately, they were reminded when they attempted to step forward in unison. As though they walked right off a cliff, their bodies were pulled into the dusty road and gasps to grunts of pain were whimpered out as a few of the transformed paper remained and nibbled randomly. The rest though, returned to Naruto.

The knife that had reached her stomach, splattered no blood. Instead, it only gradually made its way back out, with a pasty white coating of stern paper surrounding it. Having her back turned to the rest of her group though, Kakashi quickly made his way over to the disguised female and crouched to be eye to eye at the entrance wound.

Seeing nothing but the pasty white coating that was fading and the weapon on the ground, he looked back up at the stiff girl. "That hurt like a bitch."

Hearing her outburst, the rest of the group sighed in relief and cheered softly. Eye-smiling, the jounin shook his head and stood up straight, never taking his eye off the girl completely before him. "I wonder why, huh?"

With her own relieved face dropping though, Kakashi could feel his relieved heart fall into his stomach. "Yeah, you know I'm trying hard though. I'm only 12 years old, Kakashi- _kun_. I'll get better." Standing as tall as she could, Naruto allowed the anger to flash on her face.

 _"Why didn't you do it, Kushina-neechan?"_

Immediately knowing why she was mad, Kakashi allowed his eye smile to drop. Saying it softly as not to be heard by the others, Kakashi attempted to calm his student. "Naruto, now is not the time to talk about this, but we can talk as soon as we're alone and not on complete duty. Either when we get to Tazuna's, or if we have to set up camp tonight. Is that okay?" Frowning, the disguised girl nodded slowly. Opening her mouth repeatedly though, she could only let out small noises at the back of her throat that had the jounin straining to hear.

Only shaking her head in the end, and reaching her arms up-the man recognized the gesture. _Hug me._

Not crouching down again, the man opened his arms and took a step forward. Reaching him literally half way, Naruto wrapped her arms around his high waist as he set his around her shoulders, leaving a hand directly on her hat with his head lowered. Receiving odd looks from Sakura and a raised eyebrow from Sasuke, it appeared that Tazuna was the only one who understood the situation-or at least pretended to between the disguised shinobi. _'Heh, if they kiss, their get ups will make a complete mask,'_ and as if sensing the thoughts, Kakashi perked his head up and raised his voice just enough to be clearly heard in a strict tone.

"Mm, Tazuna I believe you have some explaining to do."

While the Team Leader and the client spoke, the genin students listened and yet lost themselves in their thoughts. Naruto didn't mind the hug and in fact enjoyed it, though she understood that her teammates wouldn't understand much once more on this topic either. Sakura outright found the hug creepy and weird, though the slight memory of her bright and happy teammate acting very different and angry-and then bringing up the topic of how their elusive sensei knew her mother made it less creepy in her book. Sasuke though, could only admit he was jealous. The man clearly knew the parents of the orphan that no one had nice words for, and was able to work with a remaining connection for a nice long while. Compared to Sasuke, it was better than everyone claiming to be on good terms with a cousin he barely ever spoke to. _'I'm not jealous any other way, because Naruto is a boy.'_

Otherwise, their thoughts turned from the hug to the situation currently at hand.

Tazuna was a Master Bridge Builder, being both influential on his island and successful in every plan he sold and conducted. He was also the only one able to get assistance by others to build the bridge connecting the Land of Waves to the Homeland, allowing the citizens to be free of the business tyrant, Gatou. Not recognizing the name, Sakura timidly had spoken up and asked who the man was. Showing a feral distaste, Naruto had answered the question for her with Tazuna wildly nodding along the explanation. Being a short, beady eyed man, he hired a human wall-like army of thugs to do his dirty work, keeping up a simple front of cargo shipping. His crimes included illegal shipments and selling of drugs and weapons, with a whole other front and system for different types of slaves.

With hopes to use the Land of Wave as an official base for his crimes to go practically undetected and to make it further impossible to be caught and stopped, the man had began enslaving and crippling the citizens of Wave. Women and children would be picked up off the streets after losing their homes, and would disappear off the streets. The only time anyone reappeared, was if their body was found bloody and mangled in a ditch, or washing up on shore. The men typically worked themselves to death for Gatou's controlled businesses or would pass in the streets of starvation.

Building the bridge would expose the land to new opportunities, causing Gatou's control on the isolated island to disappear. After a few moments of silence, Kakashi finally popped the question.

"It's up to my team to decide here. It's their lives they'll be putting on the line for you." Turning to the three, Naruto didn't even wait for him to finish his sentence before saying yes. Not wanting to be outdone and seeing the mission had been bumped up, Sasuke said yes at the apparent obvious sign of a chance to become stronger. Sakura though, took a moment to decide. Chewing on her lip, she shuffled her feet as all the males stared.

Quietly, she voted. "Yeah," nodding her head to reassure herself and to regain her voice. "We can't let a man like that be free anyways. Even if we don't get rid of him, helping you build that bridge will stop him."

"I guess we're sticking with you, Tazuna." The smile that grew on the man's face had steadily poked Naruto, emotionally and literally. The man escaped his home and instead of bringing his family with him and never looking back, he was attempting to return the whole time to help save everyone even further. It touched her, despite his buttering up attempts throughout his explanation. In the literal sense though, Naruto could feel his civilian sized chakra soar with the words from Sakura and Kakashi. "Alright Team 7, from here on out, the mission only gets harder. Those two ninja were the missing-nin Demon Brothers from Kiri, chunin. The next shinobi we come across most likely will be jounin." Looking each student in the eye to ensure his words got across, he continued. "Diamond formation once again, but be on guard."

Jumping into their positions but closer to the client, Sakura and Sasuke pulled out kunai from their pouches as Naruto kept her hands free and clear. Kakashi though, simply kept his hands in his pockets and his face out of his book as the group marched on.

There were no conversations as the members walked swiftly on the trail. With sweeping eyes and a locked jaw, Naruto kept her back stiffened and mind concentrated toward the environment around her, maintaining the henge around her. It was with twitching muscles though, that she tried to hold back her own, foxy grin at an idea itching in the back of her head.

Arriving to a sandy shore, the members of Team 7 and client, had clambered into a boat with a fidgeting man. Trading a soft conversation, the boat man had explained that due to the harsh ways of Gatou, nobody was safe-even on the homelands shore.

Setting sail, Naruto was sitting in the front with Kakashi and Tazuna behind her, as Sakura and the boat man sat behind them, with Sasuke at the back. It was with a narrow swerve, that had Naruto shout in surprise as Sakura gasped as they just barely missed a thick piece of foundation, and with a hush from almost half the boat, Naruto lowered her voice and continued her awe.

Arriving on the shore, Tazuna and the boat man had shared a brief hug and an even briefer goodbye and wish of good luck to all of group, before he faded back into the fog.

With a silent nod from Kakashi, his book was returned to his pouch and he stood on guard as everyone returned to their original positions.

It was with an accidental sniff that made itself through her nose momentarily, that had Naruto forming and throwing a paper kunai towards a bush.

"Naruto-baka!" Snapping her head towards the bush, Naruto furrowed her brow as Sakura ran towards the assaulted shrub and pulled out an unsettled and trembling white rabbit. With a casual roll of the eyes and a shrug, Naruto muttered that it was an accident as Sakura glared harsher than normal. With a huff, the pink haired girl walked back to the group, releasing the creature on the way. Only when she returned to her original position, did Kakashi tug on the shirt of Tazuna and let out a shout to get down, as a large whistling competed for a dominating sound.

Falling to her hands and knees, Naruto glanced up in time to see a grayed blur pass over where her neck was exactly, just seconds ago.

Frowning, Naruto spread her fingers out on the path and checked for her teammates. They hadn't held her attention for too long, as the whistling blur ended with a large thunk and two almost sync, but lighter thunks. Simultaneously everyone turned their heads to meet the odd sounds, and there was a tall shadowy figure standing tall and menacing.

With a bandaged mask around the lower half of his face, his headband was only tilted left on his forehead, with a shiny symbol of Kiri glinting in the flickering sunlight that shined through the leaves of the tree his sword was stuck in.

His skin though, was almost grayed in a similar way to his sword. Muscles peaked and molded around the long straps that held his black cameo pants up around his shoulders. With slightly striped gray arm and leg bands, he blended into the fog with no problem. His gray toes just barely peaked out of his modified ninja sandals, and it was with a tilt of head that Naruto could see the bandage mask went up to the side of his face, over his ears.

"Kakashi Hatake, Copy-Cat Ninja, here with a bunch of brats..?" Scratchy, out of natural means rather than hunger or dehydration, he jumped down from his blade, and with one rough tug, it followed him onto the ground. "Either way, I need that bridge builder." Stepping in between Zabuza and the rest of his group, Kakashi stood as tall as he could to the man.

"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist. Sorry, I can't let you do that." It was with a shrug and a glint that entered his eyes, did his fingers quickly form a jutsu.

"Hidden Mist no jutsu!"

 _ **Naruto POV**_

' _Why is he called Demon of the Mist..?_ ' With a roll of my eyes and a scowl, Sasuke, Sakura and I moved in almost sync to form a tight triangle around Tazuna. Forming a kunai, I kept my senses aware.

Since the rolling in mist was made of Chakra, I could just barely feel it in the air around me. The Zabuza guy though clearly had experience in this jutsu and the possible drawbacks, because I couldn't feel his actual personal chakra anymore. Watching Kakashi-sensei's back from the corner of my eye, my scowl turned into a worried frown when I watched him disappear into the fog as it grew thicker. It was his scent that I could smell in the bush though, and unfortunately water, or at least in this case, mist can cover up scents almost just as well.

"Zabuza Momichi is a master of silent killing, but don't worry." With a slight cough, I could hear the clanging of metal throughout the mist, coming from the direction that I last saw my sensei to be. "I refuse to leave my students to their death!"

With even heavier clangs, I could hear the splashing of water and slight whispers between the two jounin. It was when silence took over, that I grit my teeth.

 _'Behind me!'_

Feeling the actual chakra of the apparent Demon, I quickly formed my chakra into long spikes out of my back. "Eugh.."

Turning my head, I watched the tall 'Demon' fall apart, limb by limb into water-coating me.

Reducing my chakra from the spikes, I just barely missed Tazuna. With an apologetic smile, he tensely nodded in return. Turning my head back, I let the paper evolve back into my body. The clanging had returned, and it was when Zabuza's voice quite literally echoed throughout the clearing, I returned to frowning, more out of irritation than anything now.

"Do you know why, I'm called the Demon of the Mist..?"

Feeling it, I knew it was intense Killing Intent, rolling off in waves from one direction, though being used to it-I still didn't move a muscle. From the corner of my eye, I could see Sasuke begin trembling, and lifting his kunai towards his own neck.

"Sasuke! He's just trying to scare you..."

With an echoing snort most likely from Zabuza, I heard another large clang echo throughout the mist. I answered his question though, deciding to play along if it meant that he'd be slightly distracted from my sensei.

"No, we don't know why you're called that." ' _Asshole.'_ Biting my lip, I tried to not insult him otherwise as Sasuke only calmed temporarily from sensei's comfort.

"You see, in Kiri...we had a new graduation exam." With a menacing chuckling following, the sound of running water and clanging had continued to a fast pace. I still couldn't see or feel much, though I could feel at least Kakashi-sensei's chakra spiking with each sound of running water. "I wasn't even in the academy by then!" _Clang._ "The order was to grow close with your classmates, to be trained next to them, to touch every possible ninja topic..." _Pshh_. "Then on the very last day...you were ordered to kill every single person, and I did it without even being in their class!"

His laughter was uncontrollable, and you could absolutely hear the glee and almost growl in the back of his throat. It, bothered me.

That some people would choose to do evil with no problem.

That someone gave this asshat the title of demon, just because he did something that fucking was expected of you?

It doesn't make any sense either.

 _'He didn't grow up with them. He just joined in.'_ Gripping my kunai harder, I scowled. _'The asshole didn't even fucking grow up with them, of course he wouldn't feel too guilty for killing kids he didn't know...'_

"Hey eyebrowless asshole! Did you know that demons come in all shapes and sizes?" Muttering for a bunshin, I allowed it to take my place in the formation around Tazuna as I jumped into the mist. Running to Kakashi-sensei's chakra with the echoing clangs and running water, I paused when I stepped into water.

Squinting, I could see multiple Zabuza's made of water as my sensei manipulated his way through them, creating his own.

With a repetitive red glint on all the Kakashi's, I furrowed my brow in confusion. With his headband sitting straight on his forehead, I could finally see a red eye with what looked like a large pupil. Shaking my head though, I muttered my new jutsu.

"Paper Trail: Professional Monster!"

The closest Zabuza looked though in curiosity and borderline anger, but with my chakra being released I couldn't observe it much longer.

Surrounding me, layers and layers of paper slowly edged me closer into the water as a kiri bunshin shot itself to me, attempting to stop me. It had failed, as with a slice right through his head, that I held my breath and was able to slip my body down under water into a deeper end, as my transformation was completing itself.

While I had learned minutes ago that water didn't affect me, then it shouldn't affect my water or even damage my list of possible henges. It was with overhearing a conversation from awful villagers that I had gotten the idea to _become_ the monsters they and their children feared or adored, just to ironically protect them or others.

Opening my eyes, I slowed my chakra to a stop and stared through the surface. Letting my breath go, I could breathe freely underwater. Grinning, I knew my idea worked.

Ever heard of mermaids?

Yeah, I fucking did that.

Looking down, my tail was as black and dark as the real pair of pants I was wearing under the proper henge. My shirt itself though followed through as well, ending around my belly button with my odd little cloak fluttering in the shifting water. Without even needing to look into a mirror or to run my fingers against my skin, with each breath I could feel small gills rising and lowering itself down in sync. My hair itself was waving wildly, almost matching my cloak pieces.

It was with a guttered yelp and a growl though, I had my attention drawn to my sensei and his opponent both being pushed down by similar jutsus into the water. Wiggling my tail, I fought against the rippling current towards the apparent Demon and caught him by surprise.

"Kage no kunai!" Launching several hundreds from my left hand, the last one I had launched out rested in my hand as I swam after the hoard of kunai, and into his arm length, watching blood almost squirt out of a few newly formed cuts. Twirling the knife, I attempted to slice at his throat as he gripped a wound but it was with his free arm, that he was able to grab my wrist and his left leg that he kicked me in the stomach, using my body as a leverage to eject himself towards the surface.

Scowling, I gagged at the intensity of the kick as I momentarily watched him climb back onto the surface of the water, noticing and feeling my sensei launch himself at the newly revealed man.

It was using my newly favorite hand sign though that I summoned several clones to rise to the surface in my original henge, acting as a distraction for Kakashi-sensei to strike at the perfect opportunity as I truly didn't help too much.

Watching from the bottom of the lake, I crossed my arms in worry.

With each passing memory, a clone was destroyed by the power of Zabuza.

With each passing second, Zabuza was becoming more brute and aggressive.

With each clone being popped, I knew my unique paper power wasn't anywhere enough to save anyone besides myself if I wanted to run away.

It was with the last clone that Kakashi Hatake was encased into a ball of water, being controlled by the Demon of the Mist himself, grinning in triumph.

While metal tinkles through water more clearly than sound waves through vocal chords, I could still just barely hear my sensei encourage us to run. "He's a jounin, he'll kill you all of you. Just take Tazuna and run!"

Swimming slowly near the surface of the lake to not disturb and notify the men too much, I tuned my senses in as I watched the holder one-handed summon 12 mist bunshins who swung their swords over their shoulders menacingly.

It was the original that began to chuckle under his breath that once again blew itself to full out laughter, a grin full of a lust for blood proudly being adorned as the chakra pumped mist slowly faded back into the natural air.

"You really think you're ninjas, don't you? You think that just putting on that headband that you can deal with the reality of this world!" Throwing his head to the side, only two of his own clones had walked towards my team and client, as one separately looked down into the water with searching eyes. "Wearing a headband doesn't make you a ninja, it just makes you a child with big dreams and a head to serve on our platters for dinner." Turning my head slowly, I watched my clone and Sasuke fight off the two bunshin that had neared them, defeating them.

It was when another clone though had appeared in the twos place, catching my clone off guard-ending its existence.

Jerking his head back, I just barely caught Zabuza's exposed face drop at a realization as all of his clones stiffened. With an angry frown that shined through despite his face wraps, he sent two more of his clones towards the rest of my team once again.

"You aren't anything. You're just children, chasing impossible dreams. A ninja is a ninja when he can spill blood with no problem, being the tool his village has demanded him to be." Feeling Sakura gasp as Sasuke whimpered, I steadily transformed back into my original form as I shook. Leaving my gills for last, I attempted to take deep breaths to calm me as I awaited.

"When you make it into a bingo book, you're finally worth something more than just a tool for your village. It's when you die by your precious teammates, they'll take you to the nearest man and receive your bounty! Until then though, you're useless to everyone else." His angry frown never diminished from his face, though the sun had allowed a glint of sadistic pleasure shine. "After all, your tree hugging village encourages you to breed so you can create more free soldiers!"

Releasing as much chakra from my feet as I could, I felt myself begin flying through the air.

 _"KAGE NO BUNSHIN!"_

Reaching about 30 feet high, I allowed small wings to eject from my back as my gills as a proper smokescreen covered the lake. It was in that smoke though, that a lower formed clone had simply used Zabuza as a backboard for pushing itself at one of his remaining copies, pushing the original into the water as my miniature army had began attacking the rest of his copies.

"You say that we're just children chasing impossible dreams, only being money making tools for our village when you're wrong!" Allowing my small wings to lower myself back down onto the solid ground, I landed near the heavily breathing and cut last Uchiha. "In reality, we're much more than you want us to be! You're afraid that you'll be wrong in the way you were raised. You take us as some joke just because our villager doesn't want to nearly kill us in teaching whatever they happen to need!"

Watching my sensei raise back onto his feet, all my clones dropped in unison back into the lake as the last copy of Zabuza splattered back into its original element. Making a show of paper kunais sliding out of my hands, I watched Sasuke stand a little straighter in his taijutsu stance as Sakura once again returned to holding her own kunai threateningly, standing more protectively in guard of Tazuna.

"I refuse for your beliefs to consume someone else's opinion of themselves or become the norm of a village." Twirling my knives, I raised my chin and made a special show of looking down my nose to glare at Zabuza. "As future Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, Prince of Uzu no Kuni, I will kill you myself if it means your expectations are forgotten!"

With a stunned look from both my teammates, I saw Zabuza's angry frown turn into something more, disappointing I guess.

Or at least before Kakashi-sensei had stepped in between the man and us, nodding after my small speech.

Having a stand down, I could tell from here that Sensei's headband was still straight on his head with the odd eye showing. It was with an almost missed imitation from the man before him that had Sakura and Sasuke lifting Tazuna together onto a high, thick tree branch as I jumped next to them.

Paying more attention to Sasuke's and Sakura's wounds, I had completely missed the jutsu names, but it was almost with equally powered water dragons and large water cyclones that it was obvious. The lake was uncontrollable and was making itself up to the civilian path, and was even a few feet deep at the base of the tree.

It was the large water cyclones that Kakashi-sensei seemed to overpower Zabuza's own and push him underwater, rising to only float back against the tree we were all standing on. The bandages were muddy yet they remained around his mouth, his tilted headband slipping off his head, but with a glazed look in his eyes, they quickly found mine.

Lifting an arm, he slowly, weakly turned a palm up.

Feeling a subtle push of chakra coming from it, I watched it intently.

His skin pores weren't opening, but the soft hue of blue chakra arose as a gray material _formed_ from his palm.

With a choppy look, the gray material shaped itself with the help of his chakra into a simple and small cylinder. Feeling Kakashi-sensei approach, I looked him in the eye once more as I silently mouthed out my question as regret creeped up my spine.

 _'Uzumaki?'_

With a small nod, the water around him was seeping back into its rightful place, abandoning his body to lay as though a washed up ragdoll. He turned his attention though never removing his eyes from mine, to my silver haired sensei as near terror entered his eyes. "C-Can you see the future...?"

Before I closed my eyes, the last thing I saw was my teacher raise a kunai in his hand, hovering above my own apparently, insane and missing nin family.

"Yes, I can. And all I see is your death."

A small slicing filled the air with a small noise of skin being pierced, and I held my breath until I heard my teammates jump down onto the now muddy land with Tazuna, as a new voice filled the air.

"You're right. His future only contained his death."

Purposely turning my head away from where I knew Zabuza's corpse now laid, I turned toward the odd voice that clearly had its chakra still covered. Slowly cracking my eyes open, it was a Kiri Hunting Nin that stood with their arms lowered, but one hand still held a pair of thin sliced senbons.

"Who are you!?" Blowing up, Sakura threw her hands into the air. Crossing his arms, Sasuke scowled himself at the newly appeared boy, who with my own guilty and regret filled glance to Zabuza, made me realize that this Hunting Nin killed the Demon of the Mist. Cutting her off before she could even begin any kind of rant, Kakashi-sensei answered the question with his headband once again lowered over his apparently red eye.

"He's a Hunting Nin from Kiri. He's meant to hunt and dispose of the missing nin from his village, to prevent secrets that they may carry from getting out." Pouting at the response, Sakura huffed as Sasuke only scowled harder. Watching the ninja, I only sat down on the branch and folded my hands in my lap, feeling a whimper appear in the back of my throat.

I wasn't the one who killed him, but my goals still contain rising this family from the ashes, to bring people that were separated through bullshit means together. I mean I doubt I could've helped him through his life not to be so, negative or evil-he's like 30 years old or something.

But I could've tried to convince him to change. To spread the word of Uzumaki's making a comeback, to not be hired by pieces of shit like Gatou or whatever.

Anything would've been better than everyone thinking he died a demon, when he died a lost Uzumaki.

"Naruto-chan?"

Silently lifting my eyes from the Hunting Nin carrying my family away from me, I turned to my sensei who was crouched down on the branch next to me. With a furrowed eyebrow, I could feel his chakra flickering weakly from the over usage, confusion and concern. Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna were standing several feet away, glancing at us once again as they softly conversed. "Are you okay?"

Staring into his eye, I waited until I could feel the rest of our group turn away or be distracted.

Smiling sadly, I watched his own awareness stutter, showing his exhaustion. Allowing the henge to flicker as his chakra spiked in both surprise and in urgency, he lost conscious. Barely catching his body in time, I rested his head on my lap as Sakura and Tazuna squeaked in surprise and worry, Sasuke swishing through the muddy ground on his way over.

"No, I don't think so."

* * *

 _I fucking suck at fighting scenes._

 _By the way: CRA does apply to males **mostly** in this story, though seriously. __Naruto is disguised as a male, that the 3rd Hokage is looking out for. He would not allow her to do anything she doesn't want, or anything that is absolutely ridiculous-such as marry a female when she is actually one herself to produce children._


	7. With Pleasure

**Chapter 7: With Pleasure**

 _His hands were smooth._

 _I couldn't see much, as the lighters were dimmed so much that they might as well be off. I could recognize the room though as my apartment. Laying on my bed, fresh air drifted through my cracked open window, making goose bumps appear across my nude skin. It appeared to please the man beside me, as he only ran his fingers over my hardening nipples, ensuring that they stayed stiffened while the other hand followed a path down my collared neck, down the path between my small breasts where a chain rested, and down my stomach, resting itself on top of my small pubes._

 _I'm pleased that the room was so dark that he couldn't see my blush, but he was fully clothed-and I was nude._

 _"H-Hey..." Rising my eyes with my head, I tried to look above and around, yet it was with a partially gloved hand that roughly grabbed my chin, forcing my head back into its original position._

 _Almost magically though, the lights turned completely off, and the only noises I could hear were my and his breathing._

 _Squirming with his hand still on my chin, I didn't dare move my head._

 _But I had apparently caught his attention for something as my lower body was lifted quite high, surprising me. Closing my eyes, my shuttering breath made him hum, in either a thoughtful or pleasure way, I couldn't tell._

 _I almost want to assume he was pleased, as I could feel a pair of folded legs make their way partially under my own ass cheeks, with my legs being set around a pair of hips. Opening my eyes, I felt one of his hands fondle my breast once more as I heard a zipper being pulled at, and I could only stare into the darkness before me with goosebumps of pleasure._

 _I was turned on, no denying. My pussy was quite wet and the fact that he was ignoring it and playing with my sacks of milk instead made me want to pout and demand him to please me already._

 _There was a shuffling of clothing that was in sync with the twitching leg muscles of the much larger male and it almost made me want to smile._

 _'Finally...'_

 _I didn't care for my virginity, finding it slightly stupid for people to find it something very precious. It was your first time, not your last. Sucks if you don't get to try at least once, but sucks even more if you have to stop having it, I'd assume. I wanted to get mine done and over with because it's said to hurt, but the fact that this man was dragging it out..._

 _His hand had drifted between my breast, grabbing the chain with an almost urgency._

 _With a hard tug, I was roughly and sloppily pulled onto his lap, feeling a large warm, pulsing object make its way in between the folds of my pussy, diagonally angled like my finger when I refused to penetrate myself during masturbation._

 _Biting my lip, I felt his legs re-adjust themselves so my behind was more supported by him. My arms were lazily thrown around his shoulders, my chest rubbing harshly against his vest. His smooth hands had redirected to my behind, and I felt the muscles in his arms bulge slightly as he slightly lifted me, using a whole new pair of muscles in between his legs to twitch his cock right against my hole, perfectly positioned to enter._

 _His face found the crook of my neck, and I could feel my heart beat in my ears._

 _I didn't feel skin._

 _I felt cloth._

 _Slowly pulling myself back gently, to prevent him from dropping me right on his cock as punishment of seemingly rejecting him, I rested my hands on his shoulders and looked._

 _"Kakashi-sensei..."_

 _"Mm, Naruto-chan..?"_

 _His mismatched eyes were shadowed by the dark, but I could still see the steel grey and bright blood red. He still adorned his mask, his headband was completely gone, and his silver hair almost glowed despite the darkness._

 _Staring into his eyes, he leaned forward and kissed me, despite his mask._

 _Kissing him back, it was a distraction for him to completely drop and force me down onto his cock._

 _"Nnnnh! Sen-sei!"_

 _Tears were gathering in my eyes at the surprising, large pain that pierced my pussy. His cock was constantly pulsing and he softly was moaning my name out in syllables. Sniffling, I didn't imagine it to hurt this much, and the fact that he was enjoying it..._

 _...it was turning me on further..._

 _Through his mask, his teeth still were there as he bit down onto my neck, making me groan further in slight pain, half pleasure. Wiggling my bottom, his hands tightened themselves into cups, digging his nails into my ass._

 _Lifting my body, he slowly rose me up off his cock, never pulling out and his body followed mine. Getting on his own knees, he allowed me to fall on my back, back onto the bed. Holding onto my hips though, he looked down upon me with lust in his eyes._

 _"Such a pretty thing, just waiting to get fucked, hm?"_

 _With a pleased shiver raking down my spine, I tried to smile up at him with my earlier tears shining. "Fucked by you, Kakashi-sensei," and with a further attempt to spread my legs, he took the initiative and to insert himself fully once more, slowly this time._

 _"Nng, faster!" Pouting I watched him with wide eyes as he leaned down to get close to my face. Using one hand, he grabbed the chain and lifted my upper body off the bed, and almost glared into my demanding eyes._

 _"I make the orders, you follow them." I could only nod, as his voice took on his commanding tone from training. Letting go of the chain, my upper body dropped back once again onto the bed. Appearing very pleased himself, he slammed himself into my body._

 _"Aah!" Arching my body, he slowly pulled out and repeatedly slammed himself into my small body. "Naa!"_

 _"Is this what you wanted, you slutty Uzumaki?" Repeating his thrusts, the tears in my eyes grew at the pure pleasure racking through my body. Only being able to wildly nod, his thrusts began to lose its slow exit and picked up the pace overall._

 _I could faintly hear my bed repeatedly be slammed into the wall at a wild rhythm, though the noise completely disappeared with his filthy words and my cries of, "Yes sensei!"_

 _It wasn't taking long for me to begin getting closer and closer to my point, and I could see by his eyes that he was becoming undone-like an obedient dog that was finally released from its order._

 _"Naruto!" Leaning forward, he fondled my breasts once again._

 _"God, Naruto..." Grabbing the chain, his body leaned back and his hips began to lose control as stars once again entered my eyes._

"NARUTO!"

Rocketing my body up, I knocked foreheads with the one and only Sasuke Uchiha.

 _'What the fuck..?'_

It took a moment of rubbing my forehead and staring in disbelief at him, that I remembered what happened the past day to end up here, mashing my forehead into Sasuke's.

Kakashi-sensei passed out after his battle, and Sasuke and I carried him to Tazuna's house. We got a spare bedroom with each other since we were _both_ males, _'Yeah, totally'_ and Sakura got her own room while our sensei was in a reachable room that wouldn't invade our privacy since he was injured, which was Tazuna's family sitting room.

We ended up resting for the night, taking dinner to our rooms and passing out as soon as we finished.

"Naruto, what were you even dreaming about?"

"Huh?" I couldn't help it but I blushed. _'Am I attracted to my own teacher?'_

"You kept saying Kakashi-sensei's name." Wildly shaking my head side to side, I shot up out of bed and past the suspicious teammate. "Nothing, was just remembering yesterday! Don't worry about it!"

Not even bothering to grab the change of clothes I left out just yet, I quickly made my way out of the room and down the stairs. Not ready to face whoever made it to the breakfast table just yet, I tiptoed into the sitting room that held my unconscious sensei. Holding my breath, I slowly slid the door open-hoping that nobody would hear it.

Tazuna's daughter- _who knew the grouch who had ever gotten some?-_ named Tsunami had some basic first aid training for emergencies, and was able to patch us all up, though the only remedy for Kakashi-sensei was undisturbed rest, due to chakra exhaustion. I couldn't help it though, I wanted to see my sensei-one of the few connections left to my parents.

Definitely not because I just had a dream about him, where he fucked me, taking my virginity very roughly.

Definitely not that!

Oh, who am I kidding here.

Continuing my tip toeing, he was laying face up on a futon, covered up to his chin in blankets. His headband was pulled off, sitting neatly folded on a mobile tray next to a glass of water. While the cuts from Zabuza had steadily healed up across his arms and legs, his gravity defying hair was almost flat compared to its usual fluff.

Before he had passed out, I allowed the henge I was wearing to diminish momentarily to show him.

Losing an Uzumaki member that I hadn't even known personally, made me want to cling to the nearest object or person that could even be connected to at least one of my parents.

I'll admit, I'm suspicious of him knowing my mother-even being close enough to call her his older sister. If he was that close, didn't that mean he knew who her more _closer_ friends were, such as who married her?

Closing the door behind me, I tip-toed my way to his side and sat down with my legs crossed.

His scarred eye, normally hidden by his headband wasn't a fashion statement, not there to appear even more so mysterious with his mask or anything.

After we had retired to our rooms and laid in bed, Sasuke asked me on if I knew about his eye. Being confused at the time, I asked him what did he mean. Rolling his eyes and almost huffing, he explained quite plainly that Kakashi Hatake was not an Uchiha, yet had the doujutsu of one in his other eye. He was clearly upset about it, so I restated his words in a tone of disbelief.

 _"Kakashi Hatake is not an Uchiha, yet he has the doujutsu of one."_

I was baffled at his quiet assumption. Yes, Sasuke is a cynical person, but to assume that the village of prideful bloodlines would allow him to pluck one from another persons skull? They'd pluck it right back out and step on it as he watched. Voicing my view on the situation for the last Uchiha, it made him softly hum for a moment.

He must've thought it through enough, as he shuffled around in his own futon bed and wished me goodnight soon after.

Even if our village allowed such plucking, I don't see why Kakashi Hatake, a man with a bloodline of his own would want another. Without even trying too much, all he'd have to do is karate chop someone and he'd slice right through their whole bone structure.

Watching his chest raise and lower repeatedly, I thought over about my dream again.

Mysterious man in my apartment turned out to be my sensei. Sounds very hot when he talks dirty, and I apparently compared him to a dog that had been obedient for so long that he was becoming undone.

Covering my face with my hands, I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks in my pure embarrassment.

While we had been a team for over 2 months now, I hadn't really looked over my teammates physically. I knew I was slightly attracted to females, but males caught my attention more often-though I can definitely confirm that I do not have some one-sided, heart shattering adoration for Sakura Haruno. Sasuke is okay, but his personalty is a buzzkill.

I don't know shit about Kakashi-sensei. He's humorous I suppose, along with powerful and I dunno. I don't know what he really looks like, but in our hug he felt lean.

Physical appearance isn't the world to me, but I would like to at least be attracted physically to someone to truly begin a relationship with them.

Lowering my hands into my lap, I stared at his closed eyes.

 _'I may just have a preference for males.'_

When I was younger, I had a crush on a boy named Shikamaru Nara.

He is brilliantly intelligent just as he is extremely lazy. While he enjoyed my pranks, he sometimes got irritated with the negative outcomes if everyone was punished for them. We were both ranked lowest in the class, but he simply was for the lack of effort. Honestly? Knowing him, it was most likely because he long ago realized that Academy Rankings didn't mean jack shit, as we were all supposed to be balanced out in the end and didn't want to make an extra effort in it for something he knew was along coming: the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

The Ino-Shika-Cho was the ultimate capture squad that even their own parents had participated in. Last I heard though, the squad Kiba, Shino, and Hinata had ended in is the ultimate tracking of our generation, but that hadn't came much as a surprise. Their clans are specialists in tracking of a specific species, is one way of putting it. The Hyuuga's, which Hinata is from has the ability to see through walls in a 360 degree up to a shit ton of feet that depended on the user. Kiba was apart of a clan that studied, worked beside, and took care of dogs and their dog-like cousins, wolves. Shino was from his own clan though that allowed specific species of bugs to be implanted into their users, following the will of the user in exchange for rent.

In our graduating class, Shikamaru and maybe Shino were the only ones I searched the approval of in any other way than just being noticed. Being very observant, he would notice the smallest detail out of place, ensuring his own safety away my pranks. His lazy smiles and knowing looks always made my skin crawl pleasantly and my heart beat dance erratically. Shino, though he never laughed at my pranks, was higher than the average in his own intelligence. While they called me monster and demon, they called him freak and weirdo. Multiple times I would turn to him, and we'd sit in silence and just relax. Sometimes we'd even go bug hunting during lunch and get ramen together afterward.

My _rival_ was the oh so special prodigy Uchiha, Rookie of the Year. Top marks, females were tripping over their two left feet for him as he pushed them away, _actively_ trying to be the best at everything handed to him.

Scrunching up my nose, I sighed in defeat. _'Do I seriously have a thing for smart and lazy guys?'_

Hesitating, I reached out a hand to my injured teacher's masked cheek.

Resting it there, I was curious about what was under his mask, but I had too much respect for the man to expose him as he was laying, unaware due to exhaustion.

I was also feeling especially shy due to my dream.

Normally I was the one charging ahead and battling off whatever possible, if I saw the opportunity to do so at least.

But being possibly attracted to the man before me, who was one of the four people connected to family, it was definitely _odd_.

 _'If my mother hadn't died, he'd probably be viewing me as a little sister, or a niece...'_ Rubbing my thumb in a circle across his mask, I paused at a realization. _'What's stopping him from that?'_ Frowning, I pulled my arm away and immediately stood up.

Grimacing, I sighed again. Sending one last glance towards my sensei, I mechanically made myself walk to the door and slid it open. Without even turning around, I slid the door back closed, feeling a cough at the back of someone's throat. Raising my eyes, Sasuke stood with arms crossed and the suspicious expression had returned once again. Flipping him off, I tried to walk by him but he grabbed my wrist.

"Dobe, we need to talk." Rolling my eyes, I allowed him to drag me through and then out of Tazuna's house. Almost tripping down the steps, Sasuke walked and partially dragged me along a natural path into the woods that resided several meters near the house.

Arriving to a clearing that had a large boulder, he finally released my wrist and turned his body around. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the boulder and gazed at me almost expectantly.

"What do you want teme, because I want some breakfast." Stuffing my hands into my pockets, my hat prevented an extra chill from crawling down my spine as compared to Konoha, the land of Water had usual chilly mornings filled with a natural fog that tickled ankles.

Scoffing, he answered my question.

"Prince of Uzu no Kuni?"

Deciding that if I wanted to make something more than a political ally out of Sasuke Uchiha, I lifted up my hands, palms facing me and allowed my chakra to form. Watching them pale and lines appear along, I began to explain.

"Uzu no Kuni is home of the Uzumaki Clan, that was slaughtered by Kumo years ago before we were both born." Dropping my arms, I plopped myself down into the grass. "Each Uzumaki's chakra is unique, being able to complete form or turn into a whole other element, and in Uzu no Kuni, there was even a ninja village that Kumo were targeting the most." Shrugging, I smiled sadly. "We are still considered a threat because we are natural experts in sealing."

His brow twitched like he was tempted to furrow his brow, but I suppose that would've been too much emotion for him to reveal.

"My mother, Kushina Uzumaki was the only publicly proud Uzumaki that had any kind of connections, and to follow the traditions, the Dayimos wanted to name someone Queen in case there were hopes for any type of revival on the land." Tilting my head, I leaned back from my position on the ground, using my hands to keep myself steady. "Anything else?"

"What is with you and Kakashi-sensei?"

"The fuck kind of question is that!?" Face palming and rolling his own eyes, he stared down irritated at me.

"Is he your godfather or something? You two seem, awfully close all of the sudden."

Squinting my eyes, I understood what he was saying, but I was under the impression that Sakura and Tazuna had infected his head with possibilities of Sensei and I being in some kind of a relationship, so it was almost a relief that he just believed that we were close for family reasons.

"Uh, no. He just was close to my mom." Feeling an awkward air come in between us, I felt like he was almost questioning the undertone of my denying of anything going on.

Which, was true. I just had a wet about him, and that was all if you don't include the ways he turned me on recently, but that wasn't anything new.

' _I mean come on Teme, you felt me up yourself! Do you have any idea how awkward it was for me to discover what female masturbation is like that very night?'_

Being 12 normally meant a whole introduction into a new world that we had the rest of our life figuring out, but as a ninja-it could be a very short one. Reaching 35 was almost surprising for most shinobi and kunoichi, and 40 was the normal retirement age if they hadn't earlier due to an offspring or three. 12 to 14 were apparently the civilian ages to begin thinking about sex, and everything under 25 was considered exploring. Those who were becoming ninjas, had a different timeline.

Our first sex ed class was when we were 8, though we took official anatomy classes when we were about 7. Half of genin that make it past the graduation exam are rumored to lose their virginity around 13, and some took on Konoha's famously eccentric, vices by the time they're 17 that can include drinking casually, casual sex, smoking, reading pornography in public, green skintight suits, food obsessions and even making it a habit to be sent to the hospital for choking on senbons.

When we were 10, a student in our class had gotten his hands on a porn magazine, and boys and even quite a few girls in all grades would line up just to look at it, but then again by 15 years old, we are also expected to have at least killed one person. 16 for females and specific males to go on seductive missions, too.

It explains the expected vices and the "too early" exposure.

Just like a visiting Jounin had once said though, with her wild purple hair, trench coat and fishnet shirt.

 _"Old enough to kill, old enough to drink and fuck."_

The Academy has prepared us for a future we had almost dreamed of, but the reality is that they don't warn us of the psychological damage that can be done, or what it would be like when we realize that we had taken someone else's life.

While I had almost folded a psychology book into origami, I had paused and read a few pages.

"Anything else, teme?" Watching him shrug, I sighed.

I just wasn't feeling it today.

Lifting myself off the ground, I turned to head back to the house and maybe grab some left over breakfast, but I couldn't help but to pause and turn back, and stare at Sasuke.

Still standing there, arms crossed as he leaned against the boulder, he stared back.

 _'Is he even all that attractive?'_ His raven hair was shaped into a duck butt, and he wore a flamboyantly wide necked, navy blue shirt. His khaki shorts were white, that matched his armbands. He wore the standard sandals, and even had some kind of leg bands that had a matching navy blue trim on them. He dressed like a dork, but his almond shaped onyx eyes were interesting. His nose was refined, and he had a very heart-like shaped face. I could see his own mother's face, with the stern features his father had adorned when I watched him drop Sasuke off at the academy when we were younger.

Sticking my hands into my pockets, I felt my lips almost itch. His lips were a mixture of something that I couldn't name, though there was a perfect arch.

Shrugging myself again, I turned around and walked back to the house. _'I don't see why girls are obsessed with him, but he's pretty okay.'_

That day was spent in silence. I took over guarding Tazuna as he returned to building the bridge, trading shifts with Sakura as noon rolled around. Returning to the house, I went to my shared room with Sasuke and relaxed. Only leaving my room for meals, I promised myself that the next day will be spent differently-doing something that would be make a difference.

I ended up waking up earlier than Sasuke, and assisted Tsunami with cooking breakfast. Sitting down for the meal, everyone once again except Kakashi-sensei had arrived, and when everyone had dispersed for the day, Tazuna being guarded by Sakura for the morning, and then Sasuke after noon, I was off to do my own thing today for sure.

Starting my day with visiting Kakashi-sensei, I promised him silently that I'd figure out my feelings, so I didn't ruin whatever image as a niece, student, or little sister he had for me. Finding one of his still gloved hand under the blanket, I gently pulled it out and hesitantly kissed the center of his palm.

I had left blushing and breathing heavily. With a breath of fresh air though, I determinedly made my way out to the village.

There was a fine line of course, between being told of cruel expectations and seeing them for yourselves.

Rubbing at my temples, I wondered where I could begin.

The mission was protecting Tazuna the Bridge Builder from Gatou's men until he finished his bridge, which later would end the poverty and poor conditions that involved prostitution of all ages, undertone of slavery, starvation and homeless in the village.

They never said anything about assisting villagers in fighting back against that poverty and said poor conditions before the bridge was finished.

Purposely buying extra supplies from three different businesses that were ran by thinned and equally filthy as the homeless sleeping in the alleys, I hid in the shadows. Having bought extra brushes, paper, and paint my fingers were twitching for the folding, but my grin twitched for the smell of revenge.

One sheet of paper was for observing behaviors of both normal villagers and the guard-like mercenaries as another was for mapping out the area and marking the specific places that are being bullied and manipulated into anything and everything. At certain times, the guard-like men would make another sweep of the area, menacingly searching for any type of defiance. The villagers almost understood their natural habitual, and would hide in the same shadows as me to stay away from their possible rapist or even possible executioners.

After all, like special parasites-they'll cling and suck the life out of you, until you're either a living shell or rotting corpse.

Being starved, manipulated and bullied into situations that nobody could escape alive or at least leave free of traumatic scars, Zabuza's words echoed through the back of my mind.

 _"When you make it into a bingo book, you're finally worth something more than just a tool for your village. It's when you die by your precious teammates, they'll take you to the nearest man and receive your bounty! Until then though, you're useless to everyone else."_

This village was free of ninjas, but the fundamentals of his statement still applied even here. Gatou, known for his sex slaves and illegal trade of all types of objects-was sucking this place dry. The women were breaking down into being sex slaves, rather living a life of that than starvation, humiliation, and watching children of their own or friends be swooped up faster than they can run after them with no energy.

Like I had told to Zabuza though, I refuse to allow this be a norm of a village and I damn well meant it.

Watching the sun slowly begin to set itself, I knew it was reaching dinner time. Summoning 10, chakra packed clones, their orders were to stay hidden and observe for the rest of the night. I was only one person, and I knew that after dinner would be the best time to talk to my teammates and Tazuna.

Chicken katsu served with a helping of white rice, there was side dish of Gyoza. The bridge builder himself was boasting about the bridge's progress, despite the fact I watched 2 men quit right in the middle of it yesterday. Nodding along, I could see Sakura's uncertainty at his words and noticed Sasuke's constant tense posture. _'He's trying to comfort his daughter and grandson.'_

It was working for his daughter, though his son was reasonably skeptical of it. Inari, as it turns out his name was, ended up being the first to leave the table. Eating slowly for once, I noticed Sasuke's and Sakura's odd looks at the pace when I normally am scarfing it all down. Helping myself to helping after helping, Tsunami ended up waving off Sakura's offer to assist in cleaning up.

Leaving the room, I dropped my chopsticks loudly onto my plate, catching everyone's attention. Awkwardly adjusting my arms under the table, I angrily frowned.

"I visited the village today." Seeing Tazuna nod already in agreement, we all watched him take a long swig of the sake left out. Pulling out the papers I had bought and written on earlier that day of my pocket though, I set them out in the middle of the table. Leaning forward, I began pointing along to my explanation. "Roughly every hour, most likely due to restlessness and orders, Gatou's thugs follow this path due to the collection of stores that haven't completely submitted to their demands and still sell to people for actual reasonable prices. I've marked the businesses that have more luxuries compared the others, and I have set clones out to observe any iffy deals in between any of the owners." Pointing my finger to the other piece of paper, it was the list of observations on the villagers and thugs I had seen today.

"Typical reaction we had learned in Academy. Lack of resources and dignity have weakened the villagers hope and fight, and therefore are dependent or have given up on the idea that Tazuna will complete the bridge." Sighing, I returned to rubbing my temples as the bridge builder looked on in amazement. "Several of the thugs are, average assholes at best. There are a few to look out for though. Ones with tattoos that go up their necks in dramatic spikes are lethal. Have practice in bows and arrows, and pretty accurate aims. The ones that wear black and red bandannas somewhere on their bodies are pretty sadistic. I watched several of them randomly threaten and attack a few villagers."

I winced at Sakura's gasp. The client was staring into his sake bottle, shame almost radiating from his body, as Sasuke gripped the edge of the table.

"Tazuna, I want to know now. Do you want to be involved with what we'll be doing, or would you be happier with not knowing?" Not even bothering to look at his face, I felt as though I was staring holes into my information sheets. With a shuttering sigh that was filled with the scent of sake, he stuttered.

"I would be h-happier with not knowing..." Trailing off, I reached for the papers and stood from my seat. Immediately following, Sasuke nearly launched himself from his seat as Sakura made her way around the table and patted our clients back in comfort, before following us outside. Instead of following the natural path into the forest, we made our way along the beach that Tazuna's house resided against. The sun was beginning to truly set behind the water itself, and a cold breeze tickled our fingers as the waves rocked against the sand.

Reaching a distance set away from the house that we could still at least see, I pulled a spare piece of paper out of my pocket. With a small poof though, the ink and brush followed. I knew Sakura was speechless at the information that I had presented, and Sasuke appeared to be very disappointed at the villagers, so I took over as leader once more.

"We need to do something. We don't know what's going to happen next, on if Gatou will send another stronger ninja after us, set off a bomb on the bridge and kill everyone working on it, or what."

Almost as if a genjutsu was casted and released on him, Sasuke awoke from his disappointment. "Let me see that those sheets with the information." Nodding, I passed them over. Holding them apart but next to each other, Sakura slightly leaned over with her hand covering her mouth. "We could always get rid of the thugs that remain in the village, send a message?"

Regaining her voice, Sakura shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think that'd work. It'd only upset him, since he thinks he has everything in the palm of his hand already."

"What if we searched for his hide out?" Snapping my fingers, I pointed and grinned at Sasuke.

"That'd work! I can create a whole army in either bugs or myself, and we can find the place in no time!"

Nodding his head in approval, Sakura smiled softly and pointed out a small flaw.

"What will we do when we find it though?"

Watching Sasuke sit down in the sand, Sakura and I followed him and sat in a lazy triangle. Folding his hands before his face with his elbows resting on his knees, Sakura tucked her legs underneath herself from the beside as I sat with my legs crossed.

"Explosion tags, or my killpops."

"What?" Asking in unison, my grin never wavered and only grew.

"When we find the place, we can plant a ton of explosion tags and let them detonate-taking them by surprise, or we can plant several disguised killpops as normal ninjas that are caught infiltrated, to draw them closer?"

Straightening his back, Sasuke allowed his hands to rest in his lap. "That's perfect. When you plant the killpops, we can delay their explosion to draw more of Gatou's army closer and set it off all at once, eliminating hopefully a majority of them with Gatou."

Clapping her hands together, Sakura wildly nodded happily. "The only flaw I see about that plan is the remaining thugs that attempt to run, go on kill sprees, and what will happen to the villagers."

"What do you mean?" Furrowing my brow, my head tilted as she lightly coughed into the palm of her hand.

"The map and observatory notes show that some of the villagers are depending on deals with Gatou's army to stay stocked or at least fed, so all the food that the men have must be at Gatou's hideout, or near it. Also in your notes, it shows that several of the villagers are starving or are sick, and are too weak to even run. That raises the chance of the remaining thugs kill people in anger, and less people getting back into boats and fishing or returning to the main land to make deals with other villages for resources."

Losing my grin, Sasuke's triumph gleam had disappeared as well. Leaning back onto the palms of my hands again, I stared into the sky as a tense silence over took the group.

We were so close to winning, but still so far away.

"Isn't there some way that we can bring food in, for storage until we enact our plan or get the villagers healthy enough in time to get back on those boats?"

Looking in between each other slowly, we attempted to rack through our minds with ideas.

"Could do our own fishing, or the villagers could turn cannibal."

Sakura gasped as I snorted.

"Did the Sasuke Uchiha just make a joke?"

"Sasuke-kun, that's an awful suggestion!"

Waving his hand as though to brush off our comments, he took a look at where the sun had set before rising to his feet. "We should probably head back anyways. Kakashi-sensei should be waking up sometime tomorrow or after tomorrow, and he'll be wanting us to train."

Sighing, Sakura raised herself out the sand, dusting herself off.

"Dobe, do you think you can keep observing the village? We'll wait a few days before you send our your clone army, to make sure we don't arise too much suspicion and make Gatou unaware we're planning something. Send a clone to be on guard duty every other morning starting tomorrow, in case the bridge is being watched as well."

Lazily saluting him, I took my time standing up. "Of course, teme."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment as Sakura shook her head with another small smile. The walk back to the house wasn't awkward nor urgent, but relaxed and an air of pride swirled around us.

Arriving, we softly wished Sakura a goodnight, but Sasuke and my's walk to our room was full of rough bumpings and shoves into the wall. Almost slamming our door open and shut, my grin was practically glowing as Sasuke's smirk matched that of a mischievous cat.

Our game didn't finish with the door closing, as with mock punches and slaps, we continued to push each other quite literally around, and with him tripping over a blanket that laid beside my futon bed, he kicked at my legs to assist me in following him. Giggling, I heard him let out a huff of embarrassment before he launched himself at me, another mock smack prepared to reach the side of my arm. Catching it, I sent a poke to his stomach as he stood on his knees above me. Watching him squirm, he used his other hand to surprise me. Pouting I sent a kick up against one of his legs, making him once again slip, though this time landing on lower body.

Messily raising himself from my legs, I worked faster than him and flipped him over and straddled him, repeatedly poking his stomach and adding in mock punches, and with a huff that almost sounded like a dry laugh, he grabbed my wrists and held them above his head, with his legs wildly swinging, and randomly trying to angle themselves to kick me off.

I froze though, realizing the position we were in.

Legs pulled apart, his barely stuck out from where I was sitting on his lap. My arms over stretched the both of us, him holding my wrists and keeping them in place.

Having a rough tickle fight with your rival is not normal.

Noticing my frozen expression, with my grin slowly dropping his own smirk happily seemed to follow it. Watching his adam's apple, I watched him swallow slowly. Feeling him lower his arms to rest more properly beside his head, I felt him release my wrists.

Staring into his onyx eyes, he tried to stare back once again through my goggles. It was when he attempting to lift his body up and most likely push me off, I grabbed his wrists and pinned him back down.

"Sasuke." Softly saying his name, I tried to make it a mantra that having hormones was normal. The fact that I was rooming and partnered up with this boy, who didn't know he was sleeping not even 4 feet away from a girl that has seen him borderline naked, just from changing in the same room.

He had groped me without even knowing it before, and I had spent several private moments with it replaying in my mind, only turning out differently.

I wanted people to know I was a female, I just never understood how to reveal it.

How would I explain to the boy underneath me though, that his rival is a girl, who he just got into a rough tickle fight with, the one girl that had watched him undress without saying a thing about three times in the last two days.

"Dobe. Get off." His staring had turned into glaring, and I couldn't help but glare back.

How would I explain to my own rival, that he has deprived me of masturbating after a hot dream and the guilt that would've followed, that I almost didn't want to control myself in any form.

I feel like a slut, but I'm a ninja. Ninja die all the time, and we were just planning to murder possibly hundreds of people earlier anyways.

If I wanted to check my morals, I would've bothered the more intense civilians.

So with shuttering breaths, I erased my glare and smiled at my rival.

"Princess."

"...What?"

Watching him knit his brows together, my smile grew wider.

" _Princess_ , of Uzu no Kuni." Before he could even respond once again, I lifted my right hand away from his wrists and ripped off my goggles and hat in one motion, before pinning his arm back down.

Second by second, I watched the confusion in his eyes grow, only to widen into pure shock. Wildly jumping from both features that I hidden, I could feel my spiky carrot hair sway in the breeze that was drifting through the window. Blinking my long eyelashes, his head lifted slightly and I purposely widened my eyes to allow him to peer in.

Last I had checked, they were a dark lilac with an azure ring and in his own eyes, I could see blustering curiosity.

"Are you, really a girl?" Once again pausing in his sentence, I knew he was trying to choose his words carefully in case this was some kind of prank.

Finally releasing his wrists, I only moved my hands slightly more above his body to keep holding up my own weight. Slowly nodding, I moved my lower half against his lap. Flinching, his arms jerked to my hips. Pausing in my movement, I searched into his eyes. Seeing a faint reflection of myself, I could see the hesitance in them.

Biting my lip, I lowered my eyes away from him and slowly lifted my upper body into an upright position, though he ended up lifting his own upper half into a similar position, keeping his arms around my hips. Looking only slightly up into my eyes, I was at most an inch higher than him while sitting on his lap. Resting my hands on his shoulders, he slowly leaned his head forward. Watching him silently, his eyes closed as his lips touched my neck. Sighing pleasantly I closed my own eyes as his lips slowly trailed their way up my neck and over my jawline. Reaching my cheek, I turned my head back and met his lips.

Feeling his hold tighten on my hips, I could feel his arms attempt to rock my lower body.

Smiling in our chaste kiss, I could feel myself be set aflame. Properly rocking my lower half for him, I felt his lips slightly open as a shuttering breath was released. I could feel his own cock rising in his shorts, and taking the chance, I let out a small lick against his bottom lip. Feeling him pull his head back, I opened my eyes in slight confusion.

While he didn't stop the rocking motion, the hesitance was back. Smiling slightly awkwardly, I kissed his cheek and let out a rough grind. "Ahh..."

"Nn.."

"How, do you expect to have any children if you never open up to," pausing to leave another kiss on his cheek, I heard a slight groan in the back of his throat and a twitch in his pants at the word children. "Any girls, anyways?"

Being slightly lifted, he gave a kiss on my own cheek as a slight warning before slowly and carefully rolling me onto my back, with him on top. With a nervous smirk, he was turning our little grind into an absolute dry humping that had me clawing at his shirt at the friction. With a little bite on my neck, he paused as I watched one of his hands shakily make its way to the button of his shorts.

Audibly swallowing, I watched him try to quite literally swallow down his nervousness, and be the cocky asshole I know he is. "Maybe I've been waiting for right now."

Watching the shorts button come undone and him unzipping them to reveal black boxers, it took me a moment.

"What?"

Blinking wildly, his fingers stuttered in pulling his shorts down properly.

"Sasuke, did you just try and say you're going to get me pregnant?"

Lifting his head back up to meet my eyes, I saw the unfocused and lost look in his eyes.

Covering my mouth, I felt a grin grow wildly.

Sasuke Uchiha, the famous last Uchiha, my now ice cold rival that ignores girls and women of almost all ages, lusting after power with an overconfidence problem, was on his knees in front of a person that the world has mistaken for a boy, not knowing a damn thing about sex or simple pleasure apparently.

"Dobe..." Growling slightly, he glowered at me with irritation, embarrassment and rejection shining in his eyes. Leaning back and immediately rising to his feet, I barely twisted my arms around his legs before he got too far or even tried to leave the room.

Stifling my laughter, I used his body as a rope to pull myself off the ground and set my hands on his arms to keep him from running away.

"Teme, I'm not laughing at you, it's just weird to hear at 12!"

Ripping his arms out from my grip, I could only watch as he laid down in his own futon, back turned towards me.

"Is there anything I can do..?"

Dropping my grin, I frowned at the silence.

I didn't mean to laugh at him, but the fact that it sounded like he was going to attempt to impregnate a fellow 12 year old made it a little amusing. So loudly huffing-I decided to get his attention. I made my bed futon, and slowly slid it across the room to be next to Sasuke's. Turning off the light and locking the door, I grabbed the spare clothes I've been leaving out off the dresser. Turning my back against him, I quickly undressed and redressed in a record of time.

Deciding not to place my hat or goggles on since he knew anyways, I returned to my bed roll and laid down, staring at the ceiling.

"Go away."

Snorting, I didn't know what to do besides be myself. "To where? My bed is here."

Hearing him audibly sigh in frustration, I listened to his breathing steadily even out as guilt ate at my stomach, but pleasure at being touched danced around in my mind.

* * *

 _"_ _I feel like a slut, but I'm a ninja. Ninja die all the time, and we were just planning to murder possibly hundreds of people earlier anyways._ _If I wanted to check my morals, I would've bothered the more intense civilians."_

 _No but seriously, please realize that this is a world full of murder and constantly fighting for their or others lives. Naruto and Sasuke are clearly damaged teens, and that for example, Sasuke would otherwise be diagnosed with PTSD in real life and be admitted to a hospital for attempted homicide or intense self-harm. _

_TOTALLY not going to make that fic idea. ;)_

 _Anyways, don't worry. I have this whole arc planned, and if you're one that prefers the main character chasing after one person repeatedly throughout their whole life and ignoring ALL other options around them, you're either going to have to suck it up for your favorite parts or get over it._

 _This is most definitely going to be the most intense sexual-based chapter for a while, but I won't leave out the "normal" things adults/teens will notice._


	8. With Unease

**Chapter 8: With Unease**

I woke up earlier than Sasuke on purpose.

Being sure to move carefully out of my futon, my feet padded muffled across the floor, unlocked the door and headed to the bathroom in pure darkness, as the sun still wasn't even up yet.

Using my storage seal, I pulled out a copy of my recently bought outfit. Setting it on the sink and ensuring it wouldn't fall, I quickly showered.

While I had revealed my gender to Sasuke last night, I didn't even know on how he was going to react anyways to what we did, and I didn't know how Kakashi-sensei was either just at the fact I was a female. Dressing in my proper outfit would be better under a henge anyways, as besides my teammates and the client's family, nobody would recognize me as soon as the goggles and hat came off. It'd be a great distraction if I needed to get out quickly as well.

Leaving the shower, I dressed myself and finished everything off with my headband being tied around my forehead.

Scavenging through their kitchen, I picked up a platter of last nights now cold Gyoza from the fridge. Leaving a clone at the house, full with enough chakra to not burst with a pinch and last until noon, I didn't bother henging myself just yet.

Jumping through the trees, I was tossing pieces of the Gyoza ahead of me, and like a dog chasing a stick-I ran and caught them in my mouth before they touched the ground.

I still had 10 clones planted on understandably good leads for information.

The mission itself was just guarding three people and an inanimate object, but those three people and object were the breaker or maker of about a thousand peoples futures. I was only making things harder for my team by showing them the truth of one man's orders and expecting them to help me in freeing them, and while it wasn't up to us the moment Sensei regained conscious, I wanted to make progress and at least help. Maybe that progress would convince our team leader to let us enact plans, but I don't know.

Nobody deserves to have their lives taken from them by someone else, especially just because they want something that someone else happened to have.

The kind of thinking that made people believe they deserved to have the right to just do that, has ended in tragic endings, anger and absolute genocide. While the land of Wave wasn't full of apparently threatening seal masters, they were still viewed as a threat to someones fucking financials.

Hiding high in a tree that had overlooked a path that entered the village, I pulled out yesterdays notes. Releasing one clone at a time, I wrote the data they had discovered.

 _Deals with Gatou's men include sexual acts in exchange for resources. Apparently not all are known by Gatou._

 _Rumors of a man described like Zabuza with teen girl having walked through town. (More Kiri missing nin?/Late gossip?)_

 _Teen girl described as having ice powers._

 _Teen girl was seen walking along edge of village, picking at shrubs last night around 3am with lantern. Couldn't follow_

 _Fishing ports are controlled completely by Gatou. Only ones used are to transport Gatou's illegal shit. Doesn't seem to have any food coming in._

 _Villagers have formed a group of those who are homeless against the South West beach and hiding. Forest is really thick there, and there's a constant mist surrounding it._

 _Library is used as a resource for burning supplies by Gatou's men._

 _Quite a bit of books in there about Mythical Uzuamki's? None accurate._

 _The guard-like men don't leave the village too much, can't follow them to Gatou's hideout._

Frowning at the list, I wished I had a Nara here to help me plan on how to save this island. The only options could be outright killing Gatou and his men, leaving whatever hideout he has alone and intact to shrift through for possible food and money to assist in the rebuilding, but that would require a layout, more planning, and the readiness of Team 7 to kill men with our own hands.

I know that though we entered this Island with our hands clean, we were going to leave with them stained red no matter what we did.

Looking over the list once more, I set up another 10 chakra packed clones and sent them off under the same orders as before. Turning to my right though, I jumped back further into the trees and headed South, though when the trees were growing larger and full of sticky moss, I could see the mist that aligned itself in between elder trees. Not even being able to see that far into it, I ran a hand through my hair out of irritation.

While it'd make sense for Gatou to hide in the mist, the tyrant would have set up some kind of path so that his thugs could get through. There'd also be some kind of sign of someone at least coming up to this point, as the grass was overgrown and still undisturbed. I wasn't on the hunt for Gatou's place though, not just yet anyways. Taking a steady breath, I allowed myself to fall apart into individual pieces of paper, forming small crows.

My sight and nose was disabled by the mist, and I couldn't taste my way around blindly. While I could still see some-what despite being pulled into a herd of origami crows, I could sense chakra much better, even in civilians.

Directing my disapperated body to the right slightly in the mist, I followed the information that described the group of Villagers in hiding.

Swooping high enough to at least reach some of the branches on the overgrown trees, my hunt for a solution had truly began.

* * *

 _ **3rd POV**_

Walking on a dusty path towards the only village in the Land of Wave, a cloaked figure steadily walked at a medium pace.

While the cloak was tight enough to show off a feminine figure, her hood was pulled over her head and disguised her face from those who had turned to stare. Unfortunately, unknowing that odd figures or behavior gain unwanted attention that ended in others rape or execution, her long royal blue cloak was tugged on from behind by a greasy man holding a katana in his other hand. Behind him, stood 3 other men that were either equally greasy or covered in natural filth with dried mud.

Halting, she statically turned to face him, not a muscle in her face twitching.

"The fuck do you think you're doing? Think you can just walk around like you own this place, huh _bitch_!?" Pushing his face into hers, he grabbed the front of her cloak, and attempted to throttle her back and forth. With a well done manicured hand, dripping with thick blood that grabbed his wrist. Fending off the possibility of being treated as a bobble head, she forcefully pushed his arm away, never letting go.

Soft gasps, and a few whimpers had echoed through the area from the bystanders, though it was the filthy men that attempted to take action. Pulling out a large hammer and variances of swords, before anybody else was able to catch it in time, her free hand had risen and she sliced the throat of the man she was holding. Pushing him onto the ground, she revealed the bloody sickle knife that matched her hand.

Twirling it in a circling motion, the other men had attempted to launch themselves and run towards the woman.

Her pushing her hood down, allowing cherry red hair to spill over her shoulder, was the last thing those men had ever seen.

Hooking the sickle around the handle of the large hammer, her free fist had transformed to a mixture between light gray and cedar and went straight through his chest. Using the hammer caught in her sickle, she spun, allowing it to free fly at the one using a bastard sword. Still spinning, she threw the sickle right to the last man-piercing the left of his neck to the other side through cleanly.

The area was silent, and the woman's facial expression never changed as she withdrew her blade lodged into a dying man's neck.

With arctic blue eyes that were as sharp as her knife, only crows feet by her eyes that told of times of once happiness even remotely suggested her age besides a thick gray streak down her bangs and a few gray strands down her back. Milky skin that was hidden by blood on her hands, was spotless on her round face. Cherry red hair was perfectly cut as it sat hanging to her knees behind her.

Looking around her, people saw a hidden headband that peaked through her equally perfect cut bangs that ended above her eyes.

Crouching down to the ground, she rested a bloody hand, palm down and closed her eyes.

Having watched her mercilessly kill four men without even hesitating, they knew that while they were awful men-the fact that a healthy grown woman had arrived and committed murder so easily without anyone objectifying to it, that even the ones that acted as bad police officers couldn't stop her, terrifying those watching.

Opening her eyes once more, she stood back up tall and tense.

The whole time, one of the many Naruto bunshins was watching. Holding its breath, it watched the woman appear to pocket her blade and turn her head directly in its direction. Being spread out, the bunshin was henged as an equally starved and dirtied homeless villager. Walking toward the bunshin, people had purposely gave her more room as the bunshin began to tremble in its place.

Despite her killing the men that were on the opposing side of Team 7, it did not mean that this woman wasn't a threat automatically.

Pausing five feet away from the henged clone, one of her bloodied hands pulled open a flap of her cloak, revealing a dominantly orange kimono with a red outline that ended at her knees. Wearing some type of tight pants that ended right above black ankle high old boots, there were several pockets. Reaching with her other hand, the clone watched her reach for a long, metallic bar-like object that was sticking out.

Forming the ram seal, the clone dispersed itself.

* * *

 _'Ohhhh, fuck.'_ While still a flock of small origami crows, the memories of Naruto's clone had no problem reaching her mind. Wishing she could bite her lip, Naruto knew she never met this woman before. It was best to assume that Team 7 as a whole is definitely the target, and was hunting for anyone with any type of suspicious amount of chakra, above civilian levels.

 _'After all, you don't arrive to a land being controlled by a tyrant just to kill four men for being sick pigs.'_

Having found the group of villagers in the mist, they were living right just beyond on the border of the beach that as it turns out, was distanced almost on the opposite side of the island containing the ports that Gatou controlled. Manipulating her paper body though, she flew further down the beach and into the water. Planning for the least suspecting method of revealing herself to them, Naruto hoped they weren't aggressive. It was obvious that the island knew of ninja being hired by Gatou and Tazuna, but having none of Team 7 visit the village just yet, nobody knew whose side was on whose currently.

Swimming back around towards their small settlement area, a few of the group were washing clothes. Deciding to form her body once more, she stood several feet in front of them-catching their eyes.

Gasping and flinching, they stood from their spots readied to run.

"I have been hired by Tazuna, but I wish to talk to everyone here." Raising her hands up beside her head, open palmed, her Konoha headband gleamed in the sunlight. Being regarded with suspicious expressions, it was an elder man wearing a flimsy kimono around him that gestured towards her.

Bowing in respect, Naruto walked towards the man, but it was the youngest of the group that caught the sigma on her cloak.

"Uzumaki?"

Smiling gently, the few people there had traded their expressions for amazement, shock, and one for tears of happiness. The elder man was the one full of the tears though, and held out his hand for Naruto to take.

Accepting it, he led her into the mist.

Having made their own candles, they shined through the mist lightly, and evaporated the mist surrounding in specific areas with the heat. Having small fires set around, they were being fed sticks to keep forever burning. Tents made up of blankets and tarps, settled with sleeping bags and piles of hay covered by another blanket, and in some cases a pile of leaves made beds. There was a pile of bones pushed up against a tree that with a double look, Naruto realized they had belonged to different kinds of animals.

Catching the attention of everyone, people paused in their actions and stared, some sharing whispers with those close to them. Being led to a thick, rotting tree stump, Naruto squeezed the elderly man's hand and nodded in his direction as a form of thank you. _'I need to be polite and formal.'_ Stepping up though, she deeply bowed to everyone. _'I need to convince them to help...'_

"My name is Princess Naruto Uzumaki of the land of Whirlpools. Daughter of the late Queen Kushina Uzumaki, I grew up in Konohagakure, in the land of Fire. My team has been hired by your bridge builder, Tazuna, and our instructions are to simply guard him and his family as he finishes building the bridge. Unfortunately, my team and I have seen the conditions of your land." Crossing her arms over her chest, a wind chill came off the waves, making her cloak flutter wildly around her. "Our personal mission as Tazuna's body guards has evolved into saving the land of Wave, and we need your help."

The whispers among the villagers grew louder, and some people adorned looks of disbelief. A few were whispering the reality of her actually being an Uzumaki, as they were said to have been killed off completely. Due to the little girl that had noticed the sigma on her and having watched Naruto's entrance, she was quickly defending her. The elderly man must've heard the whispers that were questioning on what kind of help her team needed, and was the only one who spoke up, asking the question. "How do you need our help, Uzumaki-hime?"

Smiling wildly, she clapped her hands together. "Your information of the demographics on the island, the type of resources you can attain here, and any information you have regarding Gatou or his men. We have a plan currently created from our observations and interactions that keep some of the businesses here stocked, and we realized that if we take out Gatou and his men completely in the safest method for all of us, then we may be getting rid of your source of food."

Besides the cackling of the fires, silence had taken over the life that filled the clearing. Looking at each face, Naruto tried to guess what each person was thinking. With sunken faces, they clearly at least attempted to keep themselves clean despite the conditions, and Naruto knew they were scared to hope again, as it went without saying that Gatou did everything he could to crush their freedoms and spirits.

Once again, acting as the official negotiator for their group, the elderly man in the kimono spoke up. "If you can, Uzumaki-hime, can you return tomorrow? We will write all the information we know to assist you."

Naruto didn't know if her smile could grow any further. Nodding happily, she hopped down from the stump and bowed to the man. "Thank you, sir. Tomorrow I will return at noon."

"My name is Daichi, and you do not have to bow to me of all people, Hime." With an abashed smile, Naruto shook her head.

"You have suffered for too long, you deserve the respect you have had taken from you by Gatou."

* * *

Walking down another path though, Sasuke Uchiha moodily made his way to the bridge. Noon was quickly approaching and he was taking over Naruto's bunshins place for guard duty.

While he appeared normally moody or at least angry to most people he's met or walked pass, it was much worse today.

Last night, after a wonderful moment of sexually rubbing against a female that could actually be powerful, it had ended in her laughing at him. He knew that it came out wrong, his response to her asking him on how he planned to even repopulate his clan when he never got any close to girls. It had struck a chord in him though, that while he wanted to avenge his family's death, that he had to open up and connect to a female that would be accepting of the idea of having multiple children someday.

Having a type, Sasuke never even considered pursuing any of his classmates, as several of the females were stricken with his last name and tragic experience. Still not considering pursuing either of his teammates, he quietly admitted to himself that he enjoyed being _touched_ by someone in such a way.

' _I can't make it a habit. He'll destroy everything I love if I don't get rid of him first.'_

Arriving, the Naruto bunshin was sitting on a pile of unused materials, was biting a nail and looking extremely nervous. Turning its head at the sound Sasuke's feet, it was wearing the usual get up that hid the different features than that they grew up with. Releasing the offending nail though, the bunshin waved.

Not even bothering to wave back, the clone dropped its arm and rolled its eyes, though Sasuke couldn't see the last action. Assuming that Sasuke just wanted to pretend that last night never happened, it kept quiet. Glancing at the goggles though, Sasuke wondered on how and why Naruto's appearance changed. Not voicing it, he took his place next to the clone that wasn't leaving just yet.

"Teme, I have an update," having been mumbled so quietly, the raven almost completely missed it. Acknowledging the clone, he turned his eyes and awaited for it to explain.

"After the clones that were monitoring the village last night dispersed, I got their memories. There's a group of villagers that's hiding in this thick forest with a shit ton of mist, and the boss found them. She was able to convince them to give up their information regarding the demographics, accessible resources and the facts they know about Gato and his men on some paper. Tomorrow at noon, she'll head back to pick it up."

Sasuke had to admit that he was impressed at the progress done in the such short amount of time. It wasn't going to solve all of their problems, but it was a large start. They'd be able to assist in returning a destroyed island back to its original state. "Anything else?"

"Two things. First one is that Zabuza and a teen girl were seen in the village a few days before we arrived here. The teen girl is said to have ice abilities, and was seen by one of the night watch clones at 3am. It couldn't follow her though. The second thing..." trailing off, Sasuke turned his whole head towards the clone.

Fear could be clearly seen in the lower half of the clones face, and Sasuke couldn't help but allow his confusion to be expressed. "Naruto?"

Jerking its body, it grabbed Sasuke's shoulder roughly. "Just a little bit earlier today in the village, a redheaded woman arrived wearing some weird clothes and her hands are covered in blood. She slaughtered four of Gatou's men in a heartbeat, and she walked to my _henged_ and hidden clone. It dispersed itself when she was grabbing something from her pocket." Swallowing loudly, a tremor made its way through the clones body. "She just found another two of my clones."

Eyes widening, Sasuke's mind jumped to the first, logical conclusion. "Gatou must've hired another ninja then, to replace Zabuza." Releasing the Uchiha's shoulder, the clone rested its elbows on its knees and stuck its fingers up the hat in silent panic. "We need to warn Sakura, Dobe." Mutely nodding, the clone shook in place. "How is she finding your clones anyways?"

Taking a deep breath, the copy grimaced. "She keeps placing her hand against the ground and closing her eyes. I can feel her chakra being used, but I don't know how!" Throwing its hands into the air, it cried out the last few words.

"Dobe, calm down. Just, right now head to Tazuna's house and tell Sakura what's going on." With shallow breaths, it looked at Sasuke for comfort. Hesitating in standing up, it worriedly frowned at the other pre-teen.

"I hope Kakashi-sensei wakes up soon."

"He will, Dobe. Don't worry." Folding his fingers together, he watched the copy nod and turn away, quickly making its way down the same path he had just walked up on.

Unknowingly to the clone and Sasuke, the red haired woman already found them and heard their conversation.

Shifting through the trees that lined against the path with ease, she kept her distance away from it. Stopping just in time, she crouched in the shadow of a tree as the clone ran into the house of Tazuna's family.

"Sakura! SAKURA!" Almost tripping up the stairs, the bunshin threw open the door. Running through the house, it found the original's pink haired teammate in the kitchen, helping Tsunami clean up their lunch. Turning and staring in confusion and in Sakura's case of irritation, the out of breath clone quickly pushed the rag out of her hand and pulled her into the sitting room holding their sensei.

"Naruto-baka, what are yo-"

"Gatou hired another ninja! It just caught three of my clones already, and she murdered four of Gatou's men in the village in front of everyone just because they bothered her!"

Covering her mouth with her both of her hands, the words the clone had nearly shouted at her made themselves perfectly lodged into her mind, beginning a mantra. Like a bucket of hot water poured a frozen puddle, they began to heat up intensely at the idea of the team being hunted.

 _'Even Naruto would be...'_ She couldn't even finish her thought.

Trying to prevent a hiccup from escaping, tears gathered at the edge of her eyes. Taking several steps back, her back hit the wall. Slowly sliding down it, her eyes squeezed shut as tears began to fall. The bunshin though knew it was losing the last of its chakra, and in a few moments it would disperse naturally. Trembling, it sat on the ground next to Kakashi's still unconscious body. _'Sensei, I'm scared...'_

Swallowing, the bunshin was beginning to count down in seconds of time running out, never moving its eyes from Kakashi's resting body. "Sakura, boss is on their way right now." The sniffle from Sakura that followed afterward, the bunshin pretended that it was her confirming that she heard. "Be safe."

 _Pop_

* * *

Jumping through the trees with chakra pumping through her feet, the real Naruto gained the memories of the dispersed clone. Having suppose to be doing guard duty, there wasn't much too interesting besides its conversation with Sakura and Sasuke. Not updating Sakura on all the recently gained information though, Naruto understood why.

She had a constant tremor in her own hands, and a set of tears in her own eyes threatening to fall.

Being in the middle of talking to several of the hidden villagers, when the two clones had dispersed, she froze. Quickly explaining that she just received a notification from a special technique, the group seemed to have understood when she had left almost immediately afterward, denting the ground she was originally standing in. When the trees began to become sparse and thinner, she jumped down onto the ground and simply sprinted toward the direction of the house.

It was when there was a large crunch on the ground behind her, Naruto formed a kunai in her hand, and threw it right towards the sound without even looking back, continuing to run.

Pushing herself further, Naruto could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. There was at least protection in numbers, and the chance that their sensei may wake in time to help defend.

Having felt it before she could properly respond, Naruto tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground and went flying, face forward.

Landing on her stomach, she felt her body forcefully glide against the grassy ground until she slowed to a stop. "Ack!" Feeling the dirt and grass stains that coated the front of her body, in front of her and off to the side, she recognized the clearing.

 _'I'm so close to making it back..'_ The boulder that Sasuke was just leaning against the day before as he questioned her title, she knew she just had less than fifty meters to Tazuna's house. _'I fucking can do it, damnit!'_

Lifting her body up from the ground with her arms, she felt something cold and firm encase itself around her legs, imprisoning her legs to the ground. Twisting her upper body around as a whole, she found that there was very stone like pieces that were still growing out of the ground, making their way up to her knee caps.

Turning her head in what had felt like full circles to her, she finally found the red haired woman crouched down into the dirt with her fingers sunk in off to her left, hiding in the shadows of a tree.

Gripping the grass, Naruto couldn't help but rip it out and bang her fists onto the ground as the tears in her eyes threatened once more to fall as hopelessness swallowed her heart.

" _Fuck_ you! You think you can just take a bribe from a disgusting man and help him kill everyone that lives here!?" Barely being able to lift her upper body up properly, the redheaded woman stood up and watched the exposed and trapped carrot top.

Forming several kunai, Naruto threw them towards the woman in desperation, who only plucked one out of the air and side stepping the rest. Carefully observing it, the blood that was thick on her fingers earlier was only beginning to now dry. Holding it just in between her finger tips, her arctic eyes followed each visible overlap that Naruto's paper chakra created.

Seeing the interest the woman was taking in the object, Naruto's heart skipped a beat. _'I'm running out of chakra, from everything I did today...'_ Having used her chakra for 11 powerful clones, searching for the hidden villagers, and to get back to Tazuna's faster, Naruto felt her heart beat once again, with regret being pumped through. _'If I hadn't, I could've just disapperated and flown away...'_

"Who even gave you the right to take anyone's life anyways!?" Almost growling the words, Naruto glared at the woman who ignored her in favor of the kunai. Using only enough chakra to form another kunai, she aimed for the woman's head.

Only tilting her head slightly, it went over her shoulder. Glancing at the offending hand that summoned it, Naruto felt the ground underneath her shake softly. Sprouting as though it was a flower, stone wrapped itself and encased Naruto's hands thickly. Turning her head, the woman's eyes searched the ground and trees behind her for the kunais the Kyuubi Container had shot. Raising an eyebrow at the lack of them, she dropped the paper kunai in her hands, and watched it fall apart steadily, layer by layer.

"You are only 12 years old, you should not be here." Naturally loud, her voice only had a slight croak at the end of the sentence. Walking toward the small girl, she crouched before her, and stared emotionlessly into the girls eyes. Opening her mouth, Naruto was cut off by the woman before a sound could form.

"You're suppose to be a boy, as well." Furrowing her brow and reeling her head back, Naruto couldn't help but feel a string of irritation at those words.

Once again opening her cloak, Naruto watched the redhead once more reach for the bar-like, metallic object. Pulling it out, it had the thin bar leading up into a folded, red equally metal set. While folded, Naruto could make out black marks with the red, though she couldn't make out the design. Holding it out and with a flick, the woman opened the object, revealing it to be a metallic parasol with the Uzumaki Clan design carved out of two different coloured metals, appearing on the inside and out.

"This parasol was gifted to King Aiko Uzumaki by the Fuma Clan, weapon forging experts, as a thank you allowing international trading between our nation and their clan. Built as a weapon for personal defense, it can be used without chakra for the rulers that chose to pursue other interests outside their inheritance. Many Kings and Queens have came to wield this either way, with pride."

Staring at the woman in disbelief, Naruto's eyes hopped between her face and the parasol. Stunned into silence, her thoughts were racing on the possible accuracy, who the woman truly was, and how she even had the object. "Who are you and how would you even know!?" Trying to move her arms and legs free again, Naruto shouted in near panic and in the disbelief that was painted on her face.

Resting one hand on the ground, Naruto felt the woman's chakra to be dull and though it was being used at a fast rate, it felt as though it wasn't moving, like a boulder. Feeling the cast made of stone around her legs and hands be lifted as the woman closed the parasol with the other.

"My name is Toshiko Uzumaki, Second in Command under Uzukage Kosuke Uzumaki, acting under his orders." Slowly lifting herself up onto her legs, Naruto felt her heart drop down into her stomach.

 _There she sat, the power-house, the considered all knowing. Her name was Toshiko Uzumaki._

 _"Kushina Uzumaki, will you please rise?"_

 _"You have been chosen to be the holder of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, in Konoha."_

 _She stood at 5'9, with her cherry red hair ending just below her chin in a straight edge cut. Her arctic blue eyes always had such small pupils, only adding to the sharp piercing look._

 _'Mom's memories...'_

"U-Under his orders...?" The corners of Toshiko's mouth had lifted, but it almost couldn't be considered a smile as her eyes almost glowed with anger and yet sadistic pleasure.

"To give them hell."

* * *

In a sitting room, two people had remained still in the room. One laying in the bed, the other was against the wall furthest from him. The pink haired girl against the wall, was shakily holding kunais in both of her hands, her eyes peeled open wide as tears frequently made themselves down her cheeks. With her ears searching for sounds outside the room, she completely missed the one eye opening before her.

"...Sakura, what's wrong?"

Jerking her head to the dry raspy voice, she pushed off the wall and fell to sit on her knees by his side. Staring hopelessly, the jounin stared back intensely with concern. Covering her mouth once again, a sob made its way out through the back of her throat.

Slowly regaining his voice and chakra, the man had recovered quite well. Unfortunately his body still quite sore, though his chakra was strong enough to at least search the house with it. Seeing one of his students cry and on the defense in the room of someone injured, made his stomach pool with worry. Having expected to wake up to all of his students faces, or at least one of them smiling, Kakashi immediately noticed the lack of Tazuna and two opposite pre-teens.

" _Sakura_ , where is everyone?" Adding emphasize to get her attention, he ignored the glass of water for her attention.

Messily wiping at her own tears, she took a few deep breaths to at least attempt to answer through her hand.

"S-Sasuke-kun, is guarding at the bridge...I-I think." Taking a long shuttering breath, she continued. "T-Tazuna should be safe, but Naruto..." Trailing off hesitantly, Kakashi's eye narrowed. Catching it though, Sakura audibly swallowed. "About 40 m-minutes ago, his bunshin arrived and disappeared. S-Said he'd be here s-soon, b-but there's been nothing!" Exclaiming loudly, several sobs escaped afterwards.

Furrowing his brow, Kakashi connected the dots that he was most likely in Tazuna's house, having been recovering the past few days and that his team continued the mission. Barely being able to move, the man closed his biological eye as his stomach began to boil with the worry, reaching even the deepest pits. "...What exactly is going on?"

"W-We continued the mission, because Zabuza is dead.." _Sniffle._ "N-Naruto went to the v-village and tracked Gatou's effect, a-and we decided that we'll t-try to help out, besides g-guarding the bridge. B-But when Naruto sent m-more clones to watch over the village t-today, there was a redheaded woman who k-killed some of Gatou's men, and she f-found three of Naruto's clones no p-problem..."

With a heavy sigh, Kakashi couldn't help but stare up at the ceiling. "Zabuza isn't dead."

"W-What!?"

"The Hunter-nin wasn't a real one. They only need the head to return to the village and he took the body." Freezing, Sakura's thoughts had finally paused to a stop as her tears slowly began to lessen, though her sniffle remained.

"...Then why is there another ninja here?"

Shrugging slightly, Kakashi was just as confused as Sakura. _'Gatou would've been the first person who even knew about Zabuza's survival. He wouldn't have hired another so soon.'_

 _"Naruto! Sakura!"_ Lowering his eye to the sliding door of the room, he rose his eyebrows as his only male student slid it open in a hurry. Eyes widened as slight panic dominated his face, Sasuke stepped into the room and slid the door close behind him. Staring at his sensei, Sasuke slowly slid down onto the floor in front of the door, landing on his knees with his hands held tightly in a fist.

Nodding to the panicking boy, Kakashi was at a lost on what was going on at all. Having thought his team would await for orders on continuing with the mission, they went ahead to began guarding not just the bridge builder, but Naruto went on and began guarding the village.

"Why didn't you stay here and wait for me to wake up?" Sakura turned her head away in embarrassment as Sasuke looked down on at the ground before him, and Kakashi wondered on if he even heard the question properly.

Having put the mission in the highest standard as possible, being both the first 'C' ranked one ever and turning out to be much higher ranked, and after hearing the conditions-they put the mission far before themselves. Only needing to guard three people and an object, yet they were going an extra thousand miles by looking to save an island from a vicious tyrant.

Putting his forehead in his palm, Kakashi didn't even know where to actually start with them.

"Sasuke, Zabuza isn't dead." Jerking his head back up, Sasuke's face reeled in. "I don't even know how long I've been out, and you're all panicking over another ninja being here." Shaking his head, Kakashi raised his upper body up from the futon bed, and scooted himself back enough to lean against the wall behind him. He wasn't exactly worry free, but he was too confused and still too sore to go running for the last member of their team without answers. "First of all, where was Naruto last?"

Breathing deeply and most likely loudly than he even knew, Sasuke caught the attention of the two. "He received new information from his clones, about some villagers hiding in this misty forest. He found them, and was able to convince them to give up some information so we can complete our plan."

"Your plan?" Furrowing his brow, Sakura answered this question with Sasuke following.

"We were going to have Naruto send his clones and search the island for Gatou's hideout. When he found it, he was going to henge some killpops as fake ninjas and draw their attention into it, and blow the place up. Then we'd pick off the rest of the thugs that tried bothering the villagers."

"But the villagers might depend on Gatou as a source, and we didn't want to blow it all up without the bridge finished." Completing the explanation for Sakura, she slightly smiled gratefully towards Sasuke.

The last Hatake had to admit he was impressed. While he was just as lost as the students on why there was another shinobi running around, killing thugs and hunting clones, they attempted to take control of the situation and eliminate the problem of the mission all together in one big blow-out. Only slightly disappointed that it sounded as though Naruto was doing everything like their genin test, it was the safest and cleverest method for a few genin acting without a commanding officer.

"Why was there a clone instead of the real Naruto?"

"We agreed yesterday that he'd create a clone to last until noon every other day, so if anyone was watching the bridge, they wouldn't suspect him missing."

Slowly nodding, Kakashi had several questions for the disguised girl and though he lived by looking underneath the underneath, he couldn't exactly fight off the bad feeling that she was in danger.

* * *

"Time it, Naruto!"

The only thing Naruto was in danger of was getting a sickle thrown at her in irritation during the breaks. Almost immediately after Naruto was shaken from her shock earlier, she was practically interrogated by Toshiko about her life. She would've undermined several situations if it wasn't for Toshiko knowing of Kushina's passing and the technical inheritance that now resided in her stomach.

It did surprise her though that Kushina had left the seal containing some of her memories on Naruto. _"It goes in the order of the sealers request, and you may even go years without dreaming of one, but that tattoo will always be there until the last memory. Hold onto each one."_

Currently though, Naruto was being taught on how to use the parasol. Being layered on the inside, senbon could be placed on practical micro springs that will shoot with a hidden button. One layer was specifically made to place any personal seals that would be activated with chakra. Needing to be placed or replaced, the seals could hold pure elements, such as water or lightning. Majority of the royals that had used it, normally carried it as either a sun umbrella for their complexions or personal shields. Few had used it to its full potential, and Naruto saw the benefits. Without a proper taijutsu style, she couldn't be using it too much.

After discussing it, which was more of a large argument, Naruto agreed to a small official storage seal tattoo that would hold it on the outside of her left thumb. Demanding that Naruto at least practiced dodging and blocking with it, Naruto was jumping through the trees, twisting her body around in time to either use it as a bat or to deflect the kunai and shuriken being thrown at fast rates.

"It's time for a break now, get down!" Landing awkwardly, Naruto was relieved for another break so soon. Having next to no chakra due to no chakra control training, she was being pushed further, having to use physical strength to jump from tree to tree.

"Toshiko?" Pocketing her weapons, the redhead rose an eyebrow at the carrot top. "How old are you?"

Snorting, the woman rolled her eyes as she sat down onto the grass, facing Naruto. "69 years old. I was 32 when Kushina was chosen to be the container."

Nodding with a smile, Naruto knew the chance of them both being closely related most likely wasn't possible. "So eruda-"

"I'm not that old!"

"When are we gonna head back to my client's house? I sorta told my teammate that I'd be there earlier, and ya know." Gesturing with her hands and pointing towards the setting sun, Toshiko nodded stiffly.

"I had heard earlier, that you were talking to some villagers about getting information to get rid of the tyrant here." Knitting her eyebrows together, Naruto silently wondered when she even heard that conversation, but nodding along to her words, the redhead continued. "What exactly is your plan?"

Shrugging, Naruto folded her legs together. "Send an army of clones or paper bugs, find his hideout. Use my Killpop jutsu under henges to draw them in, and then blow the place to bits. Hunt the thugs left, or at least get the villagers fed in time to take care of themselves against them if they stay."

"Then what are you waiting for exactly?"

Scrunching her nose up, Naruto set her chin in the palms of her hands. "We don't know where they're getting all of their food from, and if it's from Gatou-then we need to figure out if the villagers can at least sustain themselves enough until they can get on their boats or cross the bridge and begin trading."

"Naruto-hime," Toshiko began. Crossing her arms across her chest, she looked at the genin under observant eyes. "We can do it tomorrow, no problem, as soon as you get your chakra back."

"Wha-"

"The longer they go without food, the weaker the villagers become. Without the Tyrant and his hired thugs around at all or at least active, then everyone would be able to begin to return the to life they had before. I bet they'd appreciate help in getting back on their feet, but I don't think they'd all die of starvation as soon the hideout was blown up."

Staring stubbornly into each others eyes, Naruto didn't want to believe that as soon as it was done, there would be no negative consequences at all, but Toshiko refused to allow her princess to stress herself too much over people that have proven to take care of themselves without a bridge before.

"It's my teams mission. The decision is up to the team, so when Kakashi-sensei wakes up, we can ask everyone." Huffing, Toshiko turned away with a small nod as Naruto sighed silently in relief at winning, already knowing that Toshiko was as stubborn as the rock-like chakra in her. "We should really get back. Everyone thinks you're trying to kill us. But eruda-"

"-I'm not even that old."

Grinning at her comment, it quickly faded as Naruto tried to search her eyes. "Why are you here now?"

Just like her own chakra though, Toshiko's eyes quickly hardened to stone at the realization of the real question. Turning her head to stare right back into Naruto's own pair, she frowned deeply. "I survived the massacre, because I wasn't there for it. I was on a diplomat mission with our most popular merchant to another. I had received a crow with the Uzukage's message, explaining that Kumo had attacked, and a majority of the population were gone by the time it was written." The stone-like look in her eyes that were steaming with anger, began to look like boiling lava to the carrot top. "I was ordered to stay on Main Land, and to give everyone hell."

Pulling out her sickle knife, she allowed the dried blood to dim the light that attempted to make it shine. "Gifted by my father, I was given permission to name it." Using one hand to grip the blade between her fingers, she allowed the handle to be seen by Naruto. "I hadn't, until I read the message."

"...Cloud Killer." Feeling her stomach drop after reading the carved words, Naruto understood what pain could do to anyone. Yet hearing that, she felt the fear on where the conversation was heading

"I swore revenge." Pocketing the sickle, Toshiko leaned towards Naruto. "I caused enough trouble throughout the Land of Lightning for several A and B ranking missions to be sent to Kumo, and each team that arrived, I _killed_. I dropped their bodies off at the front gates, with Uzushiogakure's symbol for Second in Command carved into their forehead protectors." Clenching her fists, her stone-ability was making its way to the surface up her arms.

"I mugged their bodies on the regular. Many of them contained Bingo Books issued by the different countries and villages, but a month ago, I found their newest edition." With a pop and a small cloud of smoke on her left shoulder, the redhead grabbed the book. Almost angrily flipping through the pages, she paused and turned it towards Naruto.

 _Name: Naruto Uzumaki_

 _Age: 12 years old_

 _Sex: Male_

 _Village: Konohagakure_

 _Rank: Genin, Prince_

 ** _Wanted Dead_**

 _Name: Karin Uzumaki_

 _Age: 13_

 _Sex: Female_

 _Village: Kusagakure_

 _Rank: Genin_

 ** _Wanted Dead_**

With a picture of Naruto before the seal of memories was released, the other was a redhead with matching eyes and a pair of glasses. "They want you two, because they don't think they did a good enough job." Freezing in place, Naruto could only continue staring at the words that repeated Wanted Dead as Toshiko shook in silent anger.

"Finding you was easier than Karin, as you're on a team with two local celebrities. I want to warn you both though, and while I wanted to bring you both together for more safety, it'll be difficult convincing her."

Naruto knew that Kumo would never be pleased with the Uzumaki's, and those who claimed to be allies or came out publicly as one would become an enemy automatically or regarded constantly with caution. She had never realized that there would be pages in a bingo book for her family that barely had even made a name for themselves.

Slowly moving her eyes to stare into Toshiko's, she could feel her resolve against Kumo firmly harden.

Being over-confident in her abilities and her ability to analyze behaviors and situations, Toshiko's whole life had warped into a nightmare and Naruto knew it. Once where a brash, intelligent, and brave woman was, now sat an angry woman that appeared to think miles ahead before she made a single move. Not having died a honorable yet tragic death as Second in Command side by side with her leader, she was living her life under his very last order out of regret of not being there to die, marking her dead prey for them to come find her.

Naruto didn't know what Toshiko exactly planned for the futures of the remaining Uzumaki's, but she knew that she would be the one to encourage each step.

Sealing the book back into her arm, the redhead stood up in her place and held out her hand for Naruto to take. "We should get back to your team now." Taking the hand, Naruto nodded numbly along.

Standing together, they stiffly made their way back to Tazuna's house. The silence between them was tense and filled with an angry undertone. Not knowing what to say, they both allowed it to fester as their thoughts raced on the same topic. Momentarily pausing in her walk though to use the rest of her chakra for a henge, Naruto caught up and attempted to smile at her, unfortunately only ending with a forced grin. "Eruda..."

"Yes, Naruto-hime?"

"Whatever your plan is, I'll help you in anyway possible." Throwing her arms behind her head, Naruto looked forward as she took the lead in their small group. "It's a promise of a lifetime!"

Unknowingly to Naruto, Toshiko did have a plan that she knew the princess wasn't going to completely enjoy.

* * *

 _Okay, so there. I'll actually take song suggestions for memories or even situations for any Uzumaki to get into over time. This chapter though, is an introduction to something that some of you are going to be on the edge of your seats for. Buckle up motherfuckers, this ride is about to get bumpy._

 _Eruda = Elder_


	9. With Dread

**Chapter 9: With Dread**

"So, yeah?" Sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, Naruto couldn't help the flush across her cheeks in pure embarrassment at the awkward tension in the room. Having quietly arrived at the house and made their way to the sitting room, Kakashi's first instinct was to immediately throw a knife towards Toshiko's face.

Having caught it with a roll of her eyes, Toshiko sighed as Naruto began summarizing the situation with Toshiko, leaving out the personal details regarding her vendetta against Kumo, though mentioning that she found a Bingo book that had her worrying over the remaining and exposed Uzumaki's.

With an awkward silence though, the members of Team 7 plus Toshiko allowed their minds to continue their wandering, or at least until Toshiko spoke up.

"Naruto had informed me of your plan to take care of the islands pest problem." Crossing her arms, she almost glared at the henged girl from the corner of her eye. "I believe that it should be done as soon as Naruto regains all of his chakra."

Slapping her hands to her cheeks, the henged girl dragged the skin on her face down with her finger tips and rolled her eyes. _'I just introduced you as my family, and all you want to do is start an argument among my team!'_

Watching Kakashi cross his arms as Sakura's expression dropped from skeptical to disbelief, Sasuke could only shake his head in silence.

"Why tomorrow," Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

Never removing her eyes off Naruto's form, Toshiko snorted. "Your mission is to protect the bridge builder, and while it's going to be easier to do so without anyone getting in the way, the belief you all have of the villagers being too weak to take care of themselves, like they have been, is clearly wrong."

Shifting in his place, the silver haired man caught the attention of the room with a small cough in the back of his throat. "And what exactly do you suggest we do about Zabuza? I don't think he'd allow us to take down his boss, no matter how injured he is currently. He still has at least one partner."

Dropping her arms, she turned her small glare towards the Hatake. " _You_ had problems with him, _I_ won't. _You_ deal with the Tyrant and his henchmen, and _I'll_ take care of your biggest problem."

The air in the room was tense, tense enough to be cut thoroughly with a dull knife.

Frozen in their places, the genin barely allowed themselves to swallow as they waited for the leaders - or in Naruto's case, elder - to come to a decision. Naruto knew that while she wanted to vote properly, and to hear both of their points on what should be done since they have actual experience, she was too exhausted to forcibly speed it along and deal with both parties afterwards. _'But the hell with it.'_

"Eruda, you said we'd get to vote on this." Using an unfamiliar tone that demanded for no questions that not even Naruto truly recognized, Toshiko's icy eyes lingered on her henged ones, before nodding stiffly. Turning toward her team, Naruto awkwardly crossed her arms behind her head and sighed dramatically. "Why don't we just vote on what to do instead of fighting?"

After a brief moment of silence, Kakashi audibly agreed with a hum at the back of his throat.

"All those for raiding Gatou's hideout tomorrow?"

The silence came back full force, with an undertone of awkward and tense. Toshiko, of course rose her hand.

As did Sasuke, and after a few more moments, as did Naruto.

Sighing, Kakashi closed his eye as Sakura frowned worriedly.

"We will attack Gatou's hideout tomorrow, near sundown."

The room was stiff and silent, the three genin truly realizing what would go down tomorrow, the moment they faced Gatou's hideout.

 _Their first kills._

Looking at her feet, Naruto couldn't help but frown at her own decision, to viciously attack and eliminate people. _'People are going to die either way. We can't sit here like sitting ducks as more go down, when we can actually stop it.'_ Clenching and unclenching her fist, Naruto took a deep breath before raising her eyes once more, toward the one window in the room.

Sasuke was staring into a wall, the courage he had in his hand to rise slowly flickering in his chest. _'This can be beneficial to Konoha as well. People would be saved, business will bloom, and the only type of massacre that will happen is to those who really do deserve it, for once.'_ Swallowing silently, Sasuke bit at his tongue lightly.

Sakura though, was staring down at her hands with wide eyes, a burning sensation at the corner of her eyes. The same thought repeated constantly, with disbelief taking hold of her heart. _'We're going to kill people...'_ Rubbing a closed fist over both eyes quickly, to force herself back to reality, she hoped that none of her teammates looked to her. _'I thought we were here to save them?'_

"We should probably eat and then head to bed early," speaking softly, Toshiko flexed her fingers beside her awkwardly.

Toshiko knew that she just convinced three children to kill, and wasn't completely sure what to do otherwise with them.

Taking a deep breath once more, loudly this time to draw everyone's attention, Naruto nodded to the woman. "Yeah. Should probably introduce you to Tazuna's family too, so you aren't scaring them, like you did us." Giving a slightly forced, suspicious-filled squinted glance from the side out of humor, Sakura coughed as Naruto and Toshiko turned to walk out of the room.

"Ano, Toshiko-san?" Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Sakura allowed a small flush to cross her cheeks at the attention. "Why did you get rid of all of Naruto's clones, when trying to find him?"

Furrowing her brow, Toshiko shook her head. "I was using my chakra to sense for anyone with a larger than civilian chakra. I didn't know it was him, only that he was doing a henge, as it didn't match the appearance."

Receiving raised eyebrows and surprised expressions, it took a moment for Naruto and Toshiko to finally leave the room and hunt for the rest of Tazuna's family in the house.

It didn't take too long afterward for everyone to be seated at the table, a partially tense and awkward air at the newcomers, one balancing crutches next to his chair, and the other elegantly sitting back straight and eyes roaming over every detail in the room.

Yakisoba was served, with salmon fried rice on the side. Vacuuming it in at a moderate pace to cease Toshiko's disturbed stares from beside her, Naruto attempted to keep a small conversation in between suction with Tsunami going. Ranging from topics of other dishes she enjoyed making to the fish found in the water just off their back porch, the air eased away slowly.

Having whispered that the team was going to be attempting to clean everything up by tomorrow, the dessert daifuku was made in secret, and served when everyone was attempting to rise from their seats.

Small conversations popped up between Sakura and Tazuna, Sasuke and Kakashi, and even Toshiko was politely commenting on Tsunmai's home.

Naruto couldn't help but feel to be in an odd place in her emotions, between content and on edge.

Between the popping family members, getting along with her team, and even having a family-like atmosphere temporarily outside of the sick reality, she couldn't help the urge to stand on a rooftop and yell until her vocal cords couldn't connect, or the very least to run and never stop.

"Thank you Tsunmai/-san!" Echoed around the table, different variants of a smile on almost everyone's face. Bowing to everyone, Tsunmai reached for the dishes, before Toshiko and Sakura shooed her away and began assisting in cleaning.

Feeling a small pat on her back, Naruto understood the gesture to begin preparing for bed. Heading right to the stairs, she passed a nodding Kakashi that was listening to Tazuna, almost missing an eye smile and a light-hearted chuckle, and passed an awkward Sasuke, that immediately looked away from her henged goggles.

Ignoring it all, she made it first to her shared temp bedroom. Releasing the henge, she quickly changed out of her new outfit and threw on a baggy shirt and matching shorts. Tucking her hair in her goofy nightcap and pulling the goggles over her eyes, she scratched at a whiskered cheek, staring at her futon, still very close to Sasuke's.

Defeated, she grabbed at the corners and dragged it back across the room, pushing it up against the original corner it was even founded in. Heading back out of the room, she went down the hall to the bathroom and continued to prep for bed. Finishing afterward, attempting to drag out brushing her teeth as long as she could, Naruto heard Sakura and Toshiko head up the stairs, softly discussing their soon-to-be shared room.

Sighing in defeat at Sakura's announcement to brush her teeth, Naruto left the bathroom and begrudgingly headed toward her room, planning to face down in her futon.

"Sleep next to Naruto!"

Unfortunately, unknowing to her, the brief moment between Kakashi and Tazuna after dinner, was spent booting Kakashi up to the Boy's room.

Even worse, Kakashi decided that he wanted to tease one of his students and planned on it being Sasuke - who was not in a happy mood anymore, as entering the room once again, reminded him of the events that happened just the night before.

Naruto felt a suspicious worry claw at the opening of her throat. She had shown both her team leader and teammate that she was a female, but did either of them realize that the other knew?

Choosing to ignore it until it became a problem, Naruto unfroze herself outside the door and she allowed it push all the way open, staring horridly at the scene before her from behind her goggles.

Sasuke Uchiha, pushed into an odd ball against the corner in his pajamas with a disturbed expression, held a shiny kunai as he attempted to block a speedy crutch, that the last Hatake was attempting to jab at him repetitively with a closed eye-smile, never opening his eye, despite the slight shouting match.

"But I want to sleep next to this cute genin!"

"No! This is my spot, find your own!"

"You want me, your sick sensei, to sleep under a window?"

"Yeah, and you are even more sick for wanting to sleep next to me!"

"When else do I get to spend time with my wonderful male students," he replied with a strange glee.

"You could always arrive earlier, to team meetings!" Pursing his lips into a scowl, Sasuke began using his other hand to attempt to knock the crutch off course and away.

Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Cat Ninja, known to be almost diabolically dangerous to his enemies, killing several people to the sound of his own heart, with slit throats and battle cries making an odd beat in his awake, was playfully teasing one of his students, trying to convince him to sleep next to him.

Said student barely was able to keep up with the speedy attacks, and Naruto couldn't help but let a sweatdrop at the situation.

Shaking herself out of her daze, she took one step into the room.

 _Creak_

"Ah, Naruto-chan!" Freezing in his jabbings, the silver-haired man turned his head toward his disguised student with his eye-smile appearing a little sinister at this point. "Don't you think Sasuke-kun should sleep next to me?"

Folding her lips into her mouth and between her teeth, she nodded wildly. _'This is ridiculous.'_

Watching him return to the attacks with one of his crutches, Naruto shook her head and dived into her own futon, peaking out to watch her male team members be _dorks,_ or at least until Sasuke announced that he still needed to use the bathroom.

Twirling off the futon lazily with his crutches, accidentally bunching Sasuke's blankets as said boy marched out huffing, completely out of breath, the man made his way to his already prepared futon that was laying under the window. Slowly pushing it toward Sasuke's using his foot and crutch, Naruto's mouth opened before she could stop herself.

"Why not sleep next to me, sensei?"

All amusement from the teasing seemed to ease out of the man slowly during his pushing, and instead a soft feeling seemed to radiate out of him at her words. Glancing at the peaking goggles, he nodded with a quick eye-smile, and she pulled herself out to help him bring his bed over.

Watching Kakashi set his crutches down as he sorely made himself comfortable, Naruto turned the light off and stepped over him, to reach her bed. Tucking herself in her blankets and turning to face the wall, she saw that Kakashi laid on his back, his head facing the plain ceiling.

Closing her eyes and attempting to calm her breathing, over the next several minutes she could hear everyone in the house settling down for the night, while Sasuke had arrived back and settled down in his spot, having noticed that the two other 'males' futons were slightly overlapping.

Not saying a thing, he fell asleep.

Later, feeling a calamity arise from both Sasuke's and Kakashi's chakra and hearing even breaths, Naruto slowly and carefully turned to her other side, pretending that she was asleep herself.

Peaking an eye open, a lone grey eye was watching her.

Fighting with her cheeks to stop them from turning red, she opened her other eye and bluntly stared at him in return.

When she finally fell asleep, unknowingly in their "staring contest," she didn't realize that the room was too dark for him to see past the shade in her goggles to actually see her open eyes.

* * *

 _"Welcome to Konoha, Kushina-chan."_

 _Staring blandly and angrily to the team leader of my escorts, my eyes turned to the most obvious movement beyond the large gates before me._

 _The 3rd Hokage, standing tall and proud in his white and red Hokage robes, stood in the center of a line that was full of colourfully dressed figures. To his left, was an aging woman that I instantly recognized._

 _Mito Senju, formerly Uzumaki._

 _She was the movement, and the crowd that had gathered behind them made a large, sudden gasp. It was obviously improper for anyone not the Hokage to meet first with a important figure, but screw them._

 _Nobody was suppose to know why I was here, just that I was only a pawn of our villages treaties._

 _Walking toward the woman, I knew that she was just beginning to show her true age._

 _Maroon hair that use to be as bright as mine was pulled into two huge buns, with the rest of her cascading down her back, and her onyx pupiless eyes were forever squinting below a famous seal. She wasn't walking with a limp that normally came from the old Shinobi lifestyle, though she was trying her best to keep her back straight. Her white kimono was held together by a black obi, and it trailed down to cover her feet, dragging slightly in the concrete path._

 _Hearing the squad behind me, I didn't have to look to know they were formally bowing in sync, saved normally for our royal family._

 _Pausing, I dropped my angry stare and gave a half-assed bow myself._

 _When I lifted my upper body back up, I watched her smile sentimentally before she mimicked me, only to bring out her right hand as the Hokage finally began to walk forward._

 _Watching her summon a Battus Butterfly, known to be very poisonous, it fluttered its way toward me, to sit on the tip of my shoulder left._

 _"Welcome to Konohagakure, Kushina Uzumaki."_

 _I was her unwilling replacement, and everyone knew it._

 _Not even listening to the Hokage's introduction, I stared in between Mito and the crowd of both political figures and civilians. Most of them had dark or paling hair, none as bright as mine._

 _Except one boy with oddly familiar, bright blonde hair._

 _"-Shall we walk toward the tower?"_

* * *

 _Returning back to my temporary classroom after using the bathroom, today it was placed in a flower field that made up today's lessons for females, and on accident, I almost walked right into a boy my age. Equally wide eyes ended up staring back into mine, except theirs was a blue that matched the colour of the ocean gently meeting the sky._

 _Belonging to a lightly tanned, chubby-cheeked child, his spiky blond hair fell all over the place. Watching him grin widely, he was crouched beneath one of the several open windows that lead outside, overlooking my male classmates and my normal everyday chunin instructor._

 _Beside his feet, was a small basin filled with colourful and squishy balloons. Raising my eyebrows, he offered me one and silently pointed to my instructor._

 _Letting out a huff of excitement, I crouched next to the boy and took the offered balloon. Hearing him slightly scooch the basin in between us, he sent me another grin over his shoulder as he threw the first balloon, hitting a Hyuuga right in the back of a head._

 _Turns out, the balloons were filled with paint._

 _Throwing mine at the instructor, perfectly filled with red paint - adrenaline began to pump through us both as we hurriedly threw the rest before other teachers could be notified._

 _It was a little too late for that._

 _"Hey, what do you think you brats are doing!?" Jerking our heads to the right, an unfamiliar man stood with his hands on his hips. Feeling the sun-kissed blond grab my wrist with one hand and watching his other throw the last balloon at the man, we took off running._

 _Running out of the academy, past my flower assortment class, past open-doored restaurants with crowds, and past several streets until we found an alley way to sit in, hiding behind empty bins, trying to catch our breath._

 _Hearing the familiar lightened steps of some-what experienced shinobis run by, I grinned widely myself as I relaxed next to my classmate._

 _Since I joined late in the school year, I was only introduced to the class, being forced to learn their names through roll-call and actually being called on. Unfortunately, those were never the aspects of class I paid much attention to, as several of the other kids decided to start calling me Tomato as soon as I gave my introduction._

 _Watching him once more, this time turning his head to face mine, he held out his hand. "My name is Minato Namikaze."_

 _Suddenly, the delirious happiness began to fizzle away. "Excuse you?"_

 _"...What?"_

 _"You can't be."_

 _"And why not?"_

 _"Because," I sighed, feeling as though the day was ruined, "they're all dead."_

* * *

 _The room, most of the time, was bare from the lack of use. It was clear by the materials laying around, pushed against the walls in an unorganized hurry to make room. With soft cream walls, the bronzed wooden floor was decorated with several different symbols made up of black and darkening red-like ink. Spinning into a rough circle, it almost simplified into nine lines of whirling kanji together, with nine equally lit candles surrounding a small cradle._

 _Though it was just a reflection becoming behind me, I couldn't help but stare at the tanned baby sitting in that small cradle, with hair matching the flames coming from the candles. Not making much of a sound, the baby was in a deep sleep, her long eyelashes hiding gorgeous, mismatching eyes. Having three whisker-like marks on both cheeks, prominently darkened and enhanced by the weak and constantly fluttering lights, I finally turned my eyes down to the object I was leaning against._

 _Resting my sickeningly pale and sweaty hands onto the wooden stand with the scroll I needed and my own presents to my daughter, I was depending on the furniture to keep my balance._

 _Following the reflected hospital dress up, I quickly found my own eyes. Staring just enough to keep focus on the rest of the room behind me, I sadly smiled into it._

 _"I'm so sorry. This wasn't suppose to happen."_

 _Swallowing nervously, I allowed one hand to push back the hair stuck to my sweaty face before almost slamming it down, feeling myself sway dangerously. "Minato was always such a little shit. You being forced to suffer life alone, he of course had to give a gift." Nodding at the scroll before me, I tried to bring my racing thoughts together. "Naruto-chan, when you're a chunin, maybe even a jounin - I'm expecting, Sarutobi-oji to unlock these memories. This though, should work," running a finger across the bottom of the mirror, I allowed a slightly cocky smile to be released._

 _"I modified the normal fuinjutsu, the Memorizu no Sealing just a tad. It's not the same one put into the Forbidden Scroll, but it will come undone the same way. I'm making it so that it will disguise you to look more like your father, having you take the name Uzumaki, which should throw off even our smartest enemies for awhile." Tilting my head, I allowed my red waterfall to make its way over my shoulder naturally. Winking, the smile took on a humorous tone. "The sealing technique was suppose to be lost, but on a mission before he became 4th Hokage, your_ father _, Minato Namikaze had to deal with a thieving gone wrong and found it among many Uzumaki ones. This is his gift to you, I just added my own touch to it, though I have my own present for you anyways. Ask Sarutobi for the 'Warrior Chronicles.'"_

 _Waving to the books in front of me, I leaned onto the furniture holding them in more of a relaxed manner, I couldn't just stand still no matter how hard I tried. "We love you, and always will, no matter what anyone says or does will change it. This wasn't truly suppose to happen, but we trust you and know you can hold the monster Kyuubi at bay. While we can change your name and appearance to protect you from the enemies we made, not all of them are outside Konoha or wherever you decide to live when you'll be dreaming this. Whoever discovers what you hold away from the world, may turn around overlook whatever good you do, and I just want you to realize that what they believe, does not define_ you _!"_

 _Feeling myself naturally curl my fingers into the wooden surface, I watched my own tired eyes darken horribly with each word said. "Minato wants you to love and forgive this village for all of its faults, but I only say love and forgive what you believe is justified and understandable for it! I know he's going to tell someone who will spread what truly happened this night and somebody down that line of talk is going to take action against you, and it is up to you-" smacking a hand down onto surface to add emphasize, I stared furiously into my reflection, "to do what's right, for yourself and those you give your heart, in any manner you want."_

 _Smiling proudly, I once again began staring at my child through the reflection, who I could feel would grow into a great woman._

 _"You're Naruto Uzumaki, Namikaze, whatever you want to be, whether you get our bloodline or decide to follow his family's footsteps in trade. You can do whatever you want, and holding that monster in you does not mean that you have to follow through with someone else's expectations of being a weapon or even a ninja. I know that it's a treaty with a now gone village, so if you want, travel the world! Go live in a different village, live as a hermit, gather the remaining Uzumaki's or Namikaze's, throw grand balls or trashy parties, take place in politics, but whatever you do, it's your life. Just because you're the last of anything, it doesn't matter one bit, because Minato and I will always be proud of you."_

 _Turning my eyes back to my reflection, I tried to muster up the biggest smile I could. "If someone calls you a monster and it bothers you, show them that they're the monster or just prove them wrong. They will never define you. Bingo books can hold your basic information, but they'll never hold your life, dignity or life story! You're my daughter, and I'll go to hell and back for you if it means you're happy. If you're a trader, then don't forget to know how to at least defend yourself when you're traveling. If you're a normal civilian, then don't forget to respect those around you no matter. If you're a ninja, then don't just take missions and orders. Battle those who righteously deserve it, the monsters who truly do deserve to rot in hell!"_

 _Raising my chin in confidence, I proudly took in my sick and sweat ridden appearance despite my falling smile and continued my speech, "Just know what is right and wrong in the end, and if you follow in my path, please at least know the difference of what a monster and an asshole is. An asshole is someone who doesn't care, selfishly annoying garbage really. Monsters though..." Looking down at my clenched hands, I frowned._

 _"Monsters aren't always going to be the villagers that want you gone, not all the bijuus even, but they're the overgrown children that ruin lives with selfish pleasure and greedy intentions. Even if you don't follow the path of the Ninja, I want you to know now of the man in the mask..." Gulping softly, I looked up once more. "He was the one who pulled the Kyuubi out of me. The only reason I'm even here right now, is because the only way to survive that, is to have massive reserves-that come naturally being an Uzumaki."_

 _Feeling the tears in my eyes gather, I turned around towards the alter. Walking forward and over the kanji, I crouched down in between the whirling kanji lines and candles. Leaning over the cradle, seeing the small body raise up and down, I closed my eyes momentarily and kissed the forehead._

 _Pulling back, I could hear the soft giggle as mismatched eyes opened. Wide azure and lilac eyes stared back, as a large, toothless grin grew on tanned cheeks. Reaching out to play with the fire, mane-like hair, I murmured softly._

 _"Whatever you decide to do, just stay safe from the masked man..."_

* * *

Waking up with a gasp, Naruto's eyes flew open.

Seeing her sensei once more, head still tilted, though eye closed, she allowed the brief staring contest to pass through her mind again, before focusing back on the dreams. _'Uh?'_ Slowly pushing her blanket off her body, she rose silently, taking the long way around her sleeping sensei.

Reaching the door, she gently pulled it open, glancing at both males before stepping through the doorway.

"Eruda..." Peaking through the door in the kitchen, Naruto shyly hid holding the doorknob in place.

Conveniently being awake, due to an unfamiliar place, Toshiko stoically looked toward the carrot top, face softening at the pale complex of the revealed girl. Lifting a hand up from her lap, she patted the ground beside her, opposite of a small tray, all overlooking the calm waters under a lowering waxing gibbous moon.

Padding softly through the doorway, and closing the wooden door behind her before she continued to the spot beside the red-head, she dropped her body heavily down and allowed the breeze to tickle her bare legs.

Staring dejectedly off into the waters, Naruto allowed her hands to sit mindlessly on her thighs as Toshiko looked expectantly.

With a small, decorated teacup, not matching any from the home behind them, Naruto could just slightly smell the sake mixed in with fruity juice. Naturally tilted to the side, the red-head had one leg stuffed under her bottom, the other swaying with the breeze. Wearing a much larger, rich blue kimono that seemed to cover her feet naturally, barely hanging off her shoulders, with her eyes remained on the carrot top awaiting for her to present the reason she was awake in the first place, which hadn't taken too long.

"I, had a memory..."

Only having a rising eyebrow show any type of response and encouragement to continue, she did.

"Mom, I guess found a loophole on memory viewing? I don't know. On the night of the re-sealing of the Kyuubi, she was talking into a mirror, giving me a speech." Hearing a soft clang of the teacup hitting the tray, she immediately knew she had Toshiko's complete attention. "She talked about a lot of things. Like I was suppose to get the memories unsealed when I was just older, like chunin or jounin rank and age, why I was meant to look more like my dad, who is the 4th friggin Hokage! And something...else I guess?"

 _"What?_ " Nearly hissing the words, Naruto's head snapped to Toshiko in surprise. "Minato _Namikaze_ , the 4th Hokage was your father!?"

Never raising her voice, Toshiko kept the snake like hiss as Naruto slowly leaned in the other direction, nodding. "Y-Yeah, Mom mentioned something about following his family's footsteps in trade, but all the teachers in the academy said he was an orphan?" Swallowing at the oddity, the younger female allowed her eyebrows to crawl up her forehead. "Is there something going on that I don't know about, 'cause I think I have a right to know-"

"What else did she say!?"

"Uh, that she modified the sealing to hide my appearance in the first place, that even if I don't get their bloodline, it's okay? And to watch out for the masked man, who released the Kyuubi..." Being weirded out, Naruto stared at Toshiko intently whose eyes were widening in shock by each second.

Toshiko though, was beginning to lose her thoughts to utter turmoil. With each word being dragged out Naruto's mouth awkwardly, she could feel her own resolve regarding her family hardening into a jewel, pressured by the stone that she could control. Taking a moment to bring her composure back together, she took a breath before calming the hiss into a version of a rock angrily being dragged along a chalkboard.

"Naruto-hime, I'm going to explain this very carefully." Searching Naruto's own face, who nodded slowly in understanding that something was truly wrong, Toshiko continued. "The merchant that I was escorting during the massacre in Uzu no Kuni, was Yuji Namikaze. The Namikazes, were the proudest Merchant clan in our nation, that was started between a blond, random man and a quarter-blood, _blonde_ Uzumaki. They had several children, all blonde. Over time, when an Uzumaki didn't pursue ninja arts, they married into the Namikaze clan. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Furrowing her brow, Naruto hesitantly nodded. "So, then how did D-Dad end up in Konoha if they were in Uzu no Kuni?" Stuttering on the unused parental word, Toshiko frowned deeply.

"I'm not sure, but I will be looking into that as soon as possible. I will tell you immediately if I find out anything, the best guess right now though is that something happened to his parents when they were traveling, and he ended up in the nearest village." Shaking her head, she looked out to the water as a temporarily distraction. "I'm not surprised about the changing of your appearance, it does answer the question on why you took such a drastic change. What else was said about the masked man though?"

Turning her own head toward the water as well, Naruto folded her hands in her lap and bit her lip before softly replying, "That he released the Kyuubi, and the only way she was able to survive its unsealing was because of large reserves, 'cause she was an Uzumaki and stuff."

"'and stuff'?"

"Uh yeah. To stay away from him, and to stay safe- _oh!_ And to ask ojisan for the Warrior Chronicles! It was a little pile of no titled books?"

Rubbing her chin lightly, Toshiko squinted into the distance as Naruto swayed her legs quickly in nervousness.

"I've never heard of the Warrior Chronicles, but I can definitely look into everything else," the woman stated.

' _What?'_ "Wait, what do you," Naruto couldn't help but swallow at the lump growing in her throat first. "-Mean?"

"I'm going to help you and your team tomorrow, and I'm going to see on if Zabuza can be convinced to at least stopped from attacking you. Afterward? I'm not sure." Taking a sip out of the teacup full of sake, she frowned into it. "I don't think I can serve Konoha itself, and if word got out that I was the one indirectly attacking Kumo, it may put our family and your nation in jeopardy, as I marked their bodies with my symbol."

 _"I dropped their bodies off at the front gates, with Uzushiogakure's symbol for Second in Command carved into their forehead protectors."_

Recalling her explanation from several hours before, Naruto couldn't help but bite at her lip in acceptance. It made sense, with Uzushi's former Second in Command, suddenly popping up to a clan member in Konoha, becoming a ninja after the couple of rough years?

It could cause a war.

 _'But, my family finally came..'_ Feeling defeated that the world threw another curve ball, Naruto gripped the edges of her shorts. "When will you be leaving, then?" Staring down into the water, she heard the woman shift as the tea set was being sealed away in a small scroll.

"I'll be either departing when your mission is complete, of completing the bridge, or to drop you back off at Konoha."Feeling a hand rest on her shoulder, Naruto glanced up at the woman. "Naruto-hime, I'm sorry."

"It's mkay, eruda." Hearing a click of her tongue, Naruto couldn't help but let a huff of amusement.

"I'll keep in contact though, either way. For now, you should be going back to bed. Tomorrow, is going to be a busy day." In between her words, there was a warning that anyone could recognize.

Naruto also couldn't help but to push buttons though.

"Are you saying that as my old great aunt removed twelve times or as my adviser?" Lazily grinning, she got a little pinch on her arm and a pair of rolling eyes.

Standing together, they quietly made their way back to their separate rooms, and having accidentally stepped on the squeaky floorboard, Naruto received a cloudy grey eye blinking twice at her.

Pursing her lips, she made her way around him, and laid back down next to her barely awake sensei.

Still feeling saddened by the fact of her only family leaving her and the man that was more close to her intermediate family never even telling her about it, she couldn't help but tug his blanket down real quick and lifted his arms to wrap around her.

Squeezing tightly and swallowing dryly with her face against his ninja-standard shirt, she felt him squeeze back slightly.

She hadn't wanted to pull away, but knew it'd be weird to not. So when Naruto did, she pulled his blanket back up, and snuggled back into hers, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

Closing her eyes, the last thing she felt was a hand reaching under her cap, running it through her hair.

* * *

The next morning was spent in silent turmoil.

Tsunami and Tazuna, after getting the gist last night that Team 7 plus Uzumaki were going to attempt to end it all that night, were unsure what to do or say. The act of saving so far had only extended to protecting the bridge builder on the way over and as they sat at the actual bridge, not their country just yet.

Building the bridge was put on hold that day as well, Tazuna being escorted by both Sasuke and Sakura to the houses of the few left before all returning home to rest. At the home, Toshiko was attempting to not wrangle Inari at his snarky remarks, picking up the cues of their attack, with Naruto grumpily glaring over her sealing book when she wasn't sharpening her weapons.

When noon came around, Toshiko and Naruto made the journey quickly and quietly back to the hidden villagers, attempting to not use too much chakra for the information the Carrot Top requested.

Not giving much away for their plans that very night other than thanking them and a promise of the information being used, Naruto did comment on their way back that all the information she has been collecting could be used to help Konoha decide on their own business deals with them, possible aids, and future trading ports for tons of merchants across the world if it got out what Wave had. Feeling a swell of pride toward the future clan leader, the redheaded woman nodded in agreement, feeling slightly better that the younger one at least had a head on her shoulders part of the time.

For the ninjas, lunch was ate around the coffee table in the living room. Discussing several back-up plans on attacking, by the time they were finished, there was a reasonable one in place, in which the three genin would stand guard, hidden in the shadows, at possible key points surrounding the place. Toshiko would still be there, searching for any of the missing Wave Civilians, and if they weren't in the building, she would begin her own piece. After making a show of a team of fake, henged killpops making it inside, hopefully drawing in the mercenaries, and blowing the place up. If anyone were to survive or be trying to make a run for it, the genin would take care of those in their area.

Sifting through whatever may be left in the remains quickly, the three would return back to the town, eliminating any of the mercenaries left if they didn't head warning to leaving to save their own life.

Both the Uzumaki's kept quiet though at Sakura's only question made, with Kakashi attempting to explain.

"If we kill Gatou, then why do we have to kill Zabuza? Won't he just stop since his payer is gone?"

"Ah, sometimes. People don't take too lightly when their source is gone, especially if they're a missing-nin."

Naruto was hoping that he could be convinced to at least leave and live, while unknowingly to her, Toshiko was hoping that he could be recruited underneath one of them.

Just before dinner, Naruto summoned her smallest clone army of 500 before the whole household, where each and every one disaparated into small flocks of different bugs and birds. Dinner though, was spent around the table like the night before. Eating a ton to replenish her own reserves as she waited for memories, she didn't make too much of an effort to join the conversation at the time.

It was after dinner, still listening to Tsunmai and Sakura conversations in the kitchen as they finished cleaning up, when the remaining ninja all sat squished onto a couch, Sasuke in the middle with his cheeks being pulled by Kakashi, that Naruto received the memories of a clone. Having given the orders for all other clones to observe the area once founded, it didn't take long for a small pulse in her temples to ache as memory after memory came pounding in.

" _Sensei_ , stop!"

"You look so pretty when you smile, Sasuke-kun! You should smile more!" With his fingers hooked into the corners of Sasuke's mouth, his whole upper lip was lifted up at once to show his upper set of teeth and gums.

 _'I guess this is our punishment for wanting a C-rank,'_ Naruto couldn't help but think with a face-palm. _'A bored and injured Kakashi-sensei.'_ Lifting an arm over Sasuke's shoulder and the other crossing over his front, Naruto attempted to wrestle Kakashi's fingers off of Sasuke's face real quick, before ruining the mood of starting the mission. "Kakashi-sensei, let gooo!"

"And why would I do that, cute genin number 1?" Hearing a snort from Toshiko, sitting in the single chair nearby reading, she lifted the book to cover her face from the two genin's glares.

"Cause we gotta gooo," she whined, tugging at his fingers too hard, jerking him to lean onto Sasuke.

"Mission, time?" Sasuke barely gasped out, being slightly squished underneath Kakashi and onto Naruto. Hearing a hum for confirmation, Sasuke ducked underneath their arms in time for the last Hatake to end up with his head in Naruto's lap. Releasing his fingers quickly, she patted his head before manually lifting it back up, helping him regain his balance. Watching him eye-smile and pat Naruto's knee before returning to his spot on the other side of the couch, she couldn't help but feel a tingle from where his head had touched. _'We still hadn't talked about my parents yet.'_ Not voicing that, she went back to her original train of thought.

"The place on the outside has been staked out by my clones, got an idea of the layout. I don't think the missing villagers are there though." Shaking her head and frowning, she ignored Kakashi calling for cute genin number 2 from the kitchen.

* * *

 _ **Naruto's POV**_

Holding my hands together as Sakura returned to the room, I noticed her standing on guard at the announcement of our mission truly starting. Sighing at the incoming reality, we quickly dispersed to grab our gear - mine being a pile of explosion notes with a different range and sharpened kunai, my shuriken having not been used as much recently to be fined to a point earlier.

Summoning the heirloom, allowing it to stay closed and rested against my shoulder, we all stood before Kakashi-sensei once more with Toshiko standing in the doorway.

"Naruto, you are the team leader until you all return." All of earlier's amusement seemed to have flown into the wind, and the serious of the situation was broken by my teammates.

"What, why he-m?" Raising his voice slightly, Sasuke passed a small jealous glare towards me at the announcement, screwing up the pronoun as Sakura wrung her hands in nerves, glancing in between the floor, me, and sensei. Knitting my brows together toward sensei, waiting for a response on why as well, I gave a slight glare toward Sasuke back.

"Because currently, he's the one who holds the most reliable and accurate information regarding the area. It'd be more for you to listen to his orders, in case there are any surprises." Crossing his legs on the couch with his book next to him, Kakashi-sensei stared into each of our eyes for a moment to place emphasize. "I wish we could wait until I was healed to help, but more people are dropping out of building the bridge, extending the process and we can't be here forever." Not removing his from mine, I lifted my chin in pride. "Naruto, _be careful."_

Nodding, I turned my heads toward my teammates, "You ready?" Receiving two heads nodding back, we headed to the door that Toshiko was now holding open, and waved to Tsunmai and Inari sitting on the edge of the porch. Walking slowly off their porch, I slightly took the lead between Sasuke and Sakura, Toshiko in the back. "Diamond formation until we arrive."

Blurring from the civilians views, I could hear the gentle pushes of everyone's leaping feet as we jumped through the trees.

Gatou's hideout was a detached home, almost mansion, styled with odd tunnels and paths that lead up to it. Attached and almost built into a small hill, I wasn't sure on if it went underground into the hill or not. _'That'll be where a killpop will aim for, then.'_ Dodging a branch, we were heading toward Wave's Northern port, that was shut down when the whirlpools from my clan's land grew too large, making it difficult for people to directly transport to it. There were several steep rivers that went through Wave, and the hill the hideout was pushed again, could just barely overlook both the northern river and the ocean.

No noticeable escape routes were on the other side of the hill, so Gatou was hopefully pinned with his back against his wall when we arrived.

Arriving to the edge of the forest that overlooked the hideout, we landed closely on a branch, in the shade despite the sinking sun.

Toshiko dropped down though, and like yesterday, she pressed her hand against the ground and closed her eyes.

Now that I wasn't panicking after watching, actually some pretty justified killings, I could feel her chakra sonar deep under ground, massively. Her being the epicenter, it rippled like a hundred rocks skipped on water toward the hideout, not even disturbing the ground in any manner. _'She could set off earth quakes,'_ I realized. _'The, uh, tectonic plates? Are rock or something, and all she'd have to do is rub them together with enough chakra...'_

Pursing my lips and squinting my eyes down at her, I sincerely hoped that she didn't know that.

Watching her lift her hand back up, cutting off the chakra supply, she turned her head upward and shook it side to side, mouthing a brief statement. _No civilians._

Bobbing my head in understanding, she stood up and back away from her position, steadily and quietly walking away from our tree, I waved bye to her as Sakura and Sasuke either mouthed it or nodded thank you. Turning back to the base to watch the guards hanging outside, I checked on my teammates for their readiness.

Gesturing for Sasuke to take the left and Sakura to take the right, I formed two clones for them to take with them. In case they needed medical help and needed to be removed from the place or were lost, I'd receive the memories to help them. Forming five killpops beside me, they quickly henged into different people, headbands on their forehead belonging to Uzu no Kuni. Watching them flip kunais in their hands and spin shuriken on their fingers, I released a nervous grin as they ran into the dying sunlight, battle crying at the top of their lungs.

Watching one of the killpops throw a kunai right in between one of the guards eyes, the others appeared to purposely miss, nicking lightly at the men to injure them. Causing cries of outrage and an odd beeping coming from the left-open front door as they all ran in, I tried to patiently wait.

It wasn't long for three men to come running out, large burlap sacks in their arms and a panicked greedy look in their eyes. Aiming my palms ready to shoot out kunai, I could hear them discussing which way out should they go. Hearing the words boathouse, I winced. _'Shit, is Gatou even here!?'_ Watching them agree, they turned towards Sasuke's area and began running - before shuriken went flying into their skulls.

Summoning a clone to just pop to relay the memories among my two other clones, I tried to whisper lightly in case any men were coming. _"If either of you heard them mention anything else about that boathouse, throw a kunai at the front door!"_ Punching the clone in the face, I lightly tapped at the branch beneath me, to control myself from doing anything rash.

Not seeing either of them throw anything for several minutes, the sun setting far beyond the trees, I bit my lip in the uncertainty. _'Maybe the killpops are killing them on the way, making sure Gatou is there?'_ Having heard the yelling slowly cease into a small noise, still chasing away all bugs and wildlife, I knew the explosions were coming very soon. _'Even if the house goes underground to the hill, it'd collapse onto whoever is left.'_

 ** _Boom!_**

Closing my eyes in time before any light could hit them, hot air fanned my face as a large crashing, an almost crunching noise rang through my ears as the house came tumbling down.

When the ground began rattling, I flung my eyes back opened and screamed as loud as I could, flinging myself to the ground. "Sasuke! Sakura! Get to the ground!"

Receiving a mouthful of dirt, I hid my goggled eyes in the grass as the ground shook down to my inner core. Barely even being able to see as I jumped down, I barely saw the ground tear itself up, only leaving large cracks as trees tilted themselves over beside me, roots being uprooted and torn apart as the hill was slowly caving in on it hollow self.

Hearing terrified, feminine screaming but no new memories, I shot myself up only to be knocked down by the tremors.

Forcing myself to disaparate, I rose high into the air, unfortunately catching sight of _what_ the hill was caving in on.

Complex network of hallways, and wide grand stairways twirling all the way to the height of the formerly house entrance. Cages made of different metals and painted woods, crates both open and closed, piles of different types and sizes of bones, pretty feathers and leathers creating large bouts of clothing and accessories, and exotic animals running amok that I could only recognize from books. The dirt, trees, and apparent cement ceiling began tumbling down, crashing through several floors of beautiful creatures, taking lives with it, splattering blood stains and meat everywhere.

No civilians, but _animals_.

Only a crow flied freely out of the slaughter, a trail of blood following it into the air.

Watching the creature fly past me, I turned back toward where I last knew my pink-haired teammate was and focused on finding her. The ground rumbling didn't change for a few more minutes, though it lessened greatly, enough for me to form once more and sometimes use fallen trees as a balance catcher. "Sakura-chan?"

"Dobe!" Snapping my head to a dirtied Sasuke and a clone actively searching, they both had the burlap sacks from the men earlier, and the worse Sasuke had was a cut along his cheek, outside a few scraps that matched the bark design on a few of the trees.

"Teme, where's Sakura-chan?" Seeing him shrug as he slid around and over both fallen and still standing trees, I knitted my brow at the bags before climbing over a tree to continue searching. "What're in the bags anyways?"

"Hn?" Having definitely chased and silenced all wild life, wind and rushing water was truly the only sounds left besides whatever noises we made. "Oh, it's gold." Jerking my head back, I rose an eyebrow to him as he nodded, impressed with himself. "We should probably see what's left in the hole, because your clone checked them and there's 15 total gold bars in these."

Swallowing the image away of the splattering blood and animal meat, I nodded numbly with an unsure look painted on my face. "There were exotic animals down there, teme. They got crushed under everything. I, don't think we should dig too deep." Seeing a passing look of confusion and then understanding, he bobbed his head with a slightly disappointed glint in his eyes. Turning my body back around to hop over trees, I could hear familiar flapping paper.

"Heeeyo!" In the night sky, above all the carnage and disaster, was Sakura receiving a piggy back ride from my clone. Waving down to Sasuke and I with a large, relieved smile, I couldn't help but return it. "Sorry if I scared you guys, but I was suddenly pulled into the sky at the explosion." Watching the bunshin land and her climb off its back, it popped into a small cloud.

Memories of the clones experience flashed before my eyes. Seeing her clinging to a branch, readied to throw her set of kunai, repeating the Shinobi Rules and Codes under her breath. Watching her be temporarily blinded at the explosion, dropping to the ground in pain, and the clone picking her up, soaring into the sky, far away from the tall trees and shaking ground until her eye sight was regained.

The amazement as the world quite literally came undone around Sasuke and I, and the fear flashing on her face when she realized how high in the air she was.

Keeping the clone behind Sasuke there to hold the other two sacks of gold, I turned and asked a breathless Sakura and serious Sasuke, on if they were ready to begin the raiding part of their mission. Seeing two nods and a wide interested smile full of teeth and excitement, I felt a little amused at Sakura's soon to be changed attitude, once she saw the bodies of the animals and thugs left.

* * *

 _The moment of Naruto hugging Kakashi, was probably more of a family moment rather than a romantic one. But yes, Namikaze's are technically a branch of Uzumaki. Not all of the Uzumaki had their bloodline come into inheritance when they tried, but not all of them gave up in becoming a ninja through it._

 _Sorry for the wait though. ;-; I'm slowly getting back into the game, so no worries. ;)_

 _Posted: 8/20/2016_


	10. Youth of the Nations

**Chapter 10: Youth of the Nations**

Besides the bodies of animals, both of a few deformed humans and hundreds primal creatures, we found up to 30 gold bars, tons of pharmaceutical objects, a different range of weapons, and what was left of Gatou himself.

Taking them all, I had created a quick seal on my arm and sealed them into storage, besides Gatou's partially intact head. Deciding to just walk into town holding it as an announcement of our achievements since everyone was awake from the tremors, we did.

Barf in the bottom of my throat at holding greasy hair, blood trickling onto the ground beside me, but I kept my chin up with Sasuke and Sakura flanked beside me. Street lamps lightened us up to everyone, and people cheered as we walked further through town.

People cried, shook hands, and I released the dead man's head to them to be passed around, scaring off the rest of the thugs at the joyously disturbing site.

If three teenagers can walk around, your decapitated bosses head in their hands, then you shouldn't be as stupid as him.

Nobody else died under our watch from that day forward.

Returning to the house was almost difficult, with people hugging and shaking your hand constantly, but we managed.

Sitting on the porch wasn't just Tsunmai and Inari anymore, but Tazuna, Toshiko, and Kakashi-sensei had joined them. At the sight of us three being okay, relieved expressions visibly shined and a bombard of questions were asked from the family. Ranging from Gatou's death, to what the tremor was, and if we were actually okay, Kakashi-sensei cut them off and asked for a report.

Explaining everything, from the moment we left through the front door and what I could see from my own and clones eyes, I tried to be professional despite the icky hair grease still on my hand and the image of squishing animals.

Silently, I couldn't believe that I wasn't upset about killing several people, but was about the animals.

Pulling everything out of the temporary seal, it was agreed that it'd be quickly invested into food for the town, and the supplies that were broken by Gatou, to assist them in returning back to their lives as a sea port. This time, they'd be connected to the outside world much more often, with or without the bridge.

"Starting with Konoha," I had interrupted. Seeing surprised faces all around, I quickly explained that Konoha, and maybe even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire may be very willing to set up a treaty and trading deals with Wave, as ocean Sea Food alone was an expensive rarity. So during the celebration, in which men and women had arrived at the front door, wondering if they'd be accepted to back in to help in the production now that the monster breathing down their neck was gone, the word was spread.

While I received skeptical looks from my team members that even the Daimyo may want international trading through a genin team, I was quickly sat down with the rest of Team 7 and the actual mayor of Wave, the old man Daichi who kept quiet about gender.

Discussing possible terms and agreements that Konoha, if not the Daimyo could start to agree on, especially aid, were written down amidst at the bridge builder's dinner table.

In the Land of Fire's warm weather, there were several casino's, bath houses, and even different types of farms. When Wave recovered, on average if there was international trading with the Daimyo himself, their far-out sea catches would be traded for meats and vegetables, or they'd simply buy whatever mass resource they needed and vice versa. While I wasn't sure that Konoha could provide the meats and vegetables for the fish, I was sure that they could with money.

When Daichi had to excuse himself for the night, a pre-written possibility being sealed into my arm, I was asked on how could I even ensure that any deal was set up by Sakura.

Grinning wildly and winking at her, I patted at the Uzumaki symbol on my shirt. "Prince, remember?"

I hadn't exactly met the Daimyo himself, _buuut_ we practically had a shoe in with his wife.

Thank kami for Tora, for once.

In the back of my mind, I registered that when we met with the Hokage, that I should actually enforce my refugee status and schedule a meeting with the Fire Daimyo. Genin or not, I was royalty.

The island wide celebration had ended around midnight, but people moving back into their homes and back with their families, with several new faces in the crowd that wasn't dismissed by us. Kakashi-sensei though, ended up taking Sasuke away to chat to, for once serious. I knew it was because he killed men, directly today. Not wanting to be left alone yet, I quickly found Toshiko. After asking her during her sake drinking with people still celebrating, about what happened with Zabuza and his accomplice, I was waved off. All that was said, was that they were gone and she found the missing civilians, hoarded into a boat house.

Feeling my heart drop into my stomach, at another chance missed for family, she statically stared off into her teacup when I asked what happened exactly.

Not given an answer at all, I walked away.

I bothered her for the next week and a half that it took for the bridge to be completed, but she never said another thing about it.

Inari and I had ended up bonded over time, him coming to typically watch as I did basic exercises and stretches. At one point, he had even sat on my back as I did push-ups, with watching civilians and bridge workers counting off enthusiastically.

Leaving Toshiko alone and having made several connections in Land of Wave, Team 7 had continued to guarding the bridge despite nobody ever showing up, and Kakashi-sensei had recovered and joined in the watch on some days. As civilians joined in working, pouring in the amount of freedom they felt into their effort, that whenever someone grew too tired and went home, another person replaced them - working well into the night. Three shifts became a habit, and each day, us genin would be out there.

Scrambling up the shifts to make things more interesting for ourselves, whenever we had the rest of the day left, we were finally taught how to climb trees without feet, to assist us in chakra control.

Sakura had learned it rather quickly and practiced further as she assisted in building, with Sasuke and I being the last to perfect it during her night shift, a day before building finished.

What was left of Gatou's items, all across the village and on the ports, was made useful. Bringing in basic supplies and deals with merchants that would set up shop on the bridge, the gold bricks paid for them and our mission's raised status.

Today though, we were leaving.

Having ate breakfast with the our client, we left in a group with our packs and my seals, walking slowly as conversations passed over us.

By the time we made it to the bridge, a majority of the islanders had joined us.

Crouching down to Inari's sniffling eye level, I gave him a strong and tight hug. "You be strong for your family, mkay?" Whispering in his ear, I felt him nod as tears gathered in my own eyes. "Fight back with everything you have, Inari."

"Only if you do, too, aniki."

Feeling touched that I earned a place as someone's big brother despite being female, I gave him one last squeeze before releasing him.

"Thank you, for everything," Tazuna had started. Despite not being the mayor for the island, he was their voice currently as Daichi stood back. "We couldn't have gotten this far without you putting your lives on the line for absolute strangers."

Cheesy, flushing grins and smiles were radiating from Sakura and I, while Sasuke just gave a pleased smirk. Toshiko only nodded, as Kakashi-sensei shook Tazuna's hand himself.

"You're welcome, Land of Wave!" Shouting the words and throwing my hands in the air made the civilians cheer once more.

Grinning into the crowd, Kakashi-sensei softly murmured to us. "We should probably begin heading back."

Nodding in agreement, we all waved goodbye. Turning our backs to the cheering crowd, we slowly walked across the bridge, relishing in what the bridge stood for in our growing list of morally correct accomplishments as we basked in the morning sunlight. Closing my eyes for a moment, grin never moving, I lifted my chin up and enjoyed the heat.

Opening my eyes once again, eyes facing the sparsely clouded sky, there was a small black figure in it. Squinting to get a better view, it flew down closer.

 _'The crow that escaped.'_

Watching it soar in the sky and out of sight towards Wave, I stared back down at the long bridge beneath my feet.

"Hey, the bridge doesn't have a name!"

"Ah, you're right!"

"What should we name it?"

"How about Tazuna's super awesome bridge?"

"That's terrible, grandpa!"

"How about, the Great Naruto Uzumaki Bridge! For the Uzumaki that without thought, said yes to helping us, and took Gatou head on with his power!" Flushing at their fading yelling conversation with my enhanced hearing catching it, the proud glance I caught from Kakashi-sensei, gave away that he heard it, too.

Reaching the other end of the bridge, barely being able to see the Islanders, I watched my teammates quickly adjust their backpacks, ensuring that they wouldn't fly off during our run. Turning to the trees, already ready, I flinched at Toshiko's voice.

"Naruto." Turning my head to her, I knew it was time for her to say goodbye. Seeing her gesture to me as Sakura looked over curiously, I squared my shoulders and walked over.

"Here." Seeing a scroll be shoved into my chest, I clutched it tightly, turning it over in my hand. "In there, you'll find Uzumaki training exercises and jutsu ideas for you. All I ask of you now is to keep training and get involved more with Konoha."

Feeling my face scrunch up in confusion before the question left my mouth, she readily answered it, her eyes wandering everywhere besides to me.

"Currently, you're just a genin that _might_ take on clan head status when you're older. I would like for that to change, soon."

"Why?"

Her arctic blue eyes only grew as cold as a mountain top, pinning me to my place at once. Using a manicured hand to tap the scroll against my chest, I was scooped up into a tight and awkwardly warm hug afterward.

Scrambling to barely get my arms around her before she completely pulled away, when she did, she nodded once to me and then to my team.

Watching her take steps to the Northern direction, I dragged my feet to my teammates, us heading for West.

"Be good, Naruto." Weakly grinning and waving goodbye to Toshiko, the redhead pushed off her feet and disappeared into the trees within seconds.

Turning to the remaining people left, that with a lazy wave of sensei's hand, pushed off into the trees, using chakra to weave ourselves through thickening branches and trunks as mist began to fade with the weather warming up.

On foot with a civilian on the roads, it took up to 3 hours - not including our long battles on the way. Taking the trees, it only took a hour and a half. With two small 15 minute breaks sometime through it, both filled with soft complaints about sore legs and being out of breath from all three of us at one point, they were all silenced when Kakashi-sensei wondered out loud on if he should set up intense training sets to pick us up to speed.

It didn't take long after our second break for Konoha's open gates to come back in view through the branches, and using chakra in my feet, I broke through the trees and landed right in center between the gates.

"First!"

Hearing the rest of my team land slightly behind me, I heard someone clear their throat from my left. Turning my head to see Chunins and best friends Izumo and Kotetsu staring both expectantly and amused, with Izumo was standing in the booth with his hand out.

Searching my seals quickly without pulling everything out, my team only had to search their pockets. Flashing my Ninja ID just in time for Izumo to begin checking the authenticity, reading off our numbers softly to Kotetsu, I shoved mine into a pocket, knowing I needed it later after we visited old man Hokage himself.

"We weren't expecting you guys to be back in a few more days actually, but since you're are back early, you can probably slide a break in before turning in your report," Kotetsu said slyly with a wink. Watching Izumo roll the one eye not hidden by his hair, he elbowed Kotetsu in the stomach.

Watching sensei awkwardly rub the back of his head and eye-smile, I could see the two chunin become confused.

"Actually, our mission didn't go as planned. We need to talk to Hokage-sama, so if one of you could get us past the secretary?"

Grinning at the sight of Kotetsu elbowing Izumo as he stood up in a rush and sliding over the desk, he smiled and with a gesturing hand, we were lead down the main road to the Hokage tower. Taking his sweet time, he snorted to sensei at one point on how much he disliked taking Gate duty with how boring it was.

Nose dug into his porn book and Sakura chatting to a unresponsive Sasuke, I tried to ignore my teammates for a minute as I drunk in the sight of thriving villagers, instead of people falling apart with their island.

Leaving a lingering look at the busy streets, we quickly ended up in the waiting room of jisan with Kotetsu both flirting with and explaining to the secretary that we apparently needed to speak with the old man. Receiving the go ahead, the ANBU guard on post opened the door for us and we filed in.

Behind his desk as usual, buried underneath large piles of paperwork that ranged from white to pink and yellows, files thrown away in the waste basket next to him, his hat was sitting on the back of his chair, with a knitted brow as he read through a stapled set of paper. My fingers were twitching.

Two, equally old people were sitting in the comfortable chairs that normally sat directly in front of the desk. Now, they were scooted closer his desk and further apart. Recognizing them as jisan's advisers, they saw us first.

Loosely lining up with sensei on my right, Sakura on my left with Sasuke on her left, Kakashi-sensei put his porno in his pouch and stood tall as jisan noticed us, a smile spreading across his face.

"You're back?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"How'd it go?"

Before I looked away as Sakura winced, the last thing I saw on his face was the smile quickly falling.

"What happened?" He asked, folding his fingers below his chin as he shifted back in his seat, it making a small creak. "Explain everything."

"The man had lied about the mission requirements as Land of Wave didn't have enough money for a proper A ranking. Turns out, Gatou the Cargo Shipper, was using Wave as a base to ensure that he wasn't caught in several crimes. The bridge builder wanted guards that would protect him from Gatou's hired ninja as he built the bridge to connect back to mainland, stopping Gatou's control."

Pausing at jisan's eyes widening in alarm, sensei bowed his head slightly at the anger that slowly began radiating from him. "So you went ahead and did an A ranking mission with three genin. No request for back-up, or even a letter informing me that the mission changed," rubbing a temple as he deeply sighed, he waved the free hand to the man. "Continue."

"We ran into the Demon Brothers of Kiri who were taken out by Naruto, where the situation of Wave was explained. They knew what they were getting into, but my genin wanted to continue, so we did. We ran into the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi. Fighting him to what we thought was to death, his accomplice disguised as a Hunter Nin rescued him. I ended up using my Sharingan too much during our battle, and had to be carried the rest of the way to Tazuna's home, where I was unconscious for almost 3 days. When I finally woke up, Sakura and Sasuke were panicking over another ninja being in the village." Hesitating purposely, he turned toward me. "I think Naruto should just explain from here."

Seeing jisan's eyebrows furrow, I weakly grinned before bursting loudly. "We continued the mission's guidelines, sure! We took shifts over watching the bridge being built, and it sucked! It would've taken forever for the bridge to be finished at the rate it was at, so I went to their village. I saw how shitty it was, and I went to teme and Sakura-chan and we formed a plan that we'd wait a few days to do. The day sensei woke up though, an Uzumaki found me." Stiffening and casting glances at the three tensing, I audibly swallowed. "Toshiko Uzumaki. She's been alive since before Uzu no Kuni's fall, but she knew about our mission since sensei and Teme are so famous here. We thought she was another ninja Gatou hired, but she really just wanted to find me."

Raising his hand to stop me in my report, the elderly man that I couldn't even remember the name of, lowered his hand before shifting in his chair. "Did she come back with you?"

"No, she didn't. She doesn't think she's, _okay_ , enough to be around too many people anymore." Lying through my teeth to the two technical strangers, was oddly easy though they may not believe me. Seeing him solemnly nod in response, I turned to jisan and continued. "She convinced Kakashi-sensei to let us go through with the plan Sakura-chan, Teme, and I agreed on the next day, which was searching the island with my clones and then blowing it up from the inside. We did it, and we raided their hideout. Toshiko found the place Zabuza and the fake hunter-nin lived in empty, and found the missing civilians that Gatou was kidnapping, and freed them. We ended up celebrating that night, and bridge building ended up going along faster because people weren't afraid to help out. But!"

Stepping forward and rolling up my sleeve to expose the important seals I made just earlier, I unsealed the papers that held my improper map, rest of the mission payment, demographics, resources, and the possible treaty terms with a letter from the Mayor. Handing them to jisan over his paperwork, the elderly man and woman stood up from their chairs and joined him by his side, reading over his shoulder. "I ended up collecting a lot of information anyways, and since they need help and we need sea food, that they could probably have a trade, treaty, or something with Konoha or even the Daimyo. Though, before I forget, can I get an appointment with the Daimyo sometime?" Stepping back into line, disbelief, pride, and amazement entered the 3 old people's faces.

Silence over took the room, and I stuffed my hands into my pockets awkwardly. Not having expected to report what happened myself, I didn't know what else to say. Eyes wandering over the walls, looking at the painted portraits of the Hokages and map of the Land of Fire, I sneaked a glance at Kakashi-sensei.

Standing stiffly, he was much different than before. Having been relaxed before we entered, it had hit me like a brick that he might be punished for taking genin on a dangerous mission.

 _'Oops.'_

"Uzumaki?"

Turning my eyes back to the three, it was the old woman who spoke up this time. "Yeah?"

"This will have to run by the council first, but it will definitely be looked at and into." Instantly a smile grew on my face at the relief that flooded through me, and I dropped my shoulders and nodded to the old woman.

Jisan was so, _proud_. I could see it all over his face, and when he lifted his eyes to mine, he smiled back. "Naruto, I can schedule that appointment for you later. I'll tell you when it is or where, depending on when. Now, your payment for the mission is technically A-rank and will be listed as such, so don't be surprised to pick up a larger sum. But, you all have a mandatory 3 days off, no training, missions, or anything. Until then, you're dismissed."

Just barely missing the dark look jisan gave to Kakashi-sensei, I turned with my team and we quickly filed out of his office and gathered in the waiting room.

"Anyone want to go get ramen?" I asked, dearly missing the soft noodles and delicious broth.

"No," Sasuke spoke up first, shaking his head slightly. Crossing his arms and giving a curt nod goodbye, he walked away down the hall, heading to the Missions Room. Turning to Sakura-chan, she frowned and looked away from me.

"I'm just going to go home, Naruto-baka."

Despite the relief that still sat in my limbs of Wave receiving help, I felt a sting of hurt. _'She didn't call me that when Eruda was around,'_ I thought. On the outside, I just sighed and replied dejectedly, "Alright. Seeya in 3 days then."

She walked away quicker than Sasuke did, and didn't bother to stop and get her paycheck. I hoped that she was getting over how creepy my ability could be, or past her dislike of me, but as soon as Toshiko was gone, it was back. _'Is she afraid of her then?'_

Turning to the last member, who was once again reading his porno book, I felt extremely awkward. _'I hadn't been alone with him since I woke up from that dirty dream.'_

"I'll see you later, alright sensei? I'll take you up on that ramen and talk some other time." Spinning on my heel, I almost ran right into the missions room, past the exiting Sasuke, and picked up my pay as quickly as possible.

Making my way to the streets, not ready to go home and be alone with my thoughts after the complicated mission, it was just a little past noon.

People stared intensely and some even glared, finally recognizing my get-up over time. Not one person said one word to me or even about me, not until I was several feet away.

Before that mission I thought as a team, we were changing. Our teamwork was getting better, even being able to pull off an attack without sensei and save a Island all on our own. We were getting along as best as we could, and then it all went to hell. Sakura-chan, who always appeared tense and angry around me when I just used my paper, went from friendly and open to just tense all the time. Sasuke-teme, who went from someone I could just barely get along with outside of training, to actually being nice rivals and rubbing up on each other. Now, I don't even know.

He just avoids being around me most of the time after my bombing, only wanting to get the mission done and over with no causalities.

Toshiko, who I hoped would come with me to Konoha for a little bit, to be that family member that I dreamed of as a kid to protect me and hide me from these upset people, hit the ground running. It was for a pretty good reason, not wanting to cause trouble with Kumo since she's been killing off their ninja for years, but she didn't give me any way to contact her, when I was going to see her again, or anything.

 _'Besides the scroll.'_

Deciding to go to an empty park nearby the academy, I finally pulled out the scroll that Toshiko gave me.

It was a thin and small scroll, held together by a simple band in the center. There were no markings on it, the paper being a soft cream. Sitting on a bench, I unraveled the small thing across my lap all at once, and the tip of the scroll just barely fell off my knees toward the ground.

There was two, small storage seals along the bottom and a letter that took up a majority of the scroll.

Hunching over, I began to read it.

 _Naruto-hime,_

 _On our way to that bridge builder's home, you had admitted that despite my hermit status for several years, that it'd be wise to be your adviser when it came to dealing with family business._

 _I am now enacting that position._

 _Pursing to be a Ninja is a highly beneficial position, as you can learn to protect yourself with time and expand your connections while on missions and during large events, such as the Chunin Exams and Cherry Blossom Festival for example. You'll be able to spread the word that all Uzumaki's and even Namikaze can come to you, no matter the exposure of who your father is. There may not be much left, but anyone that comes to you will prove to everyone that you are serious about leading as a clan leader and future Queen._

 _Your mission in Wave has proved so much to me and others. It has proven that you can be logical and diplomatic. You were the one to gather information for an attack, even were ready to resurrect the island from the bottom with anyone who would help, and still came to their aid with the possibility of a treaty when all you had to do to assist was overlook the completion of a bridge._

 _As your possibly oldest living family member with memories of Uzu no Kuni, you still promised me that you'd help me in anyway for the remaining Uzumaki's. When I had come to you, I didn't have many details put together for a plan, not knowing what kind of person you were. Luckily, you seem to have a similar goal either way. My plan as well, is to gather all of our surviving family members. Unknowing to you until recently, my plan also included our cousin Namikaze's and having you at least open Uzu no Kuni for us to return._

 _To do so, you'd need political support to even allow you, a jinchuuriki of the strongest tails, to leave Konoha for something other than missions. Kushina might have declared to the public that nobody is to go there, but she had taken measures to ensure that anybody who did, would not survive._

 _I'm sorry that I hadn't told you about Zabuza and his accomplice, but I didn't want your team or Konoha to get involved with us too soon. I had found their hideout like planned, and we had a brief and almost borderline aggressive discussion. It had ended in the contract in the lower right seal, and leaving earlier than I hoped to leave with them to search through some of their claims about Kiri._

 _Zabuza's ability is being able to create steel, and Haku has a bloodline that is able to help him create ice easily. Besides all that, we'll be seeing you during the Chunin Exams. They're taking place in Konoha in just another week, and even if you don't get to the final event, we'll all still be there._

 _I know Kushina would be proud of you for how you handled the whole mission in Wave._

 _-Toshiko_

Putting it down, I smiled sadly down at the ground before me. Taking a moment to relish in the pride that _both_ of my parents would have in me if they knew what was going on, I took a deep breath before withdrawing the apparent contract between the three.

A normal sheet of paper was folded into thirds, and when I opened it, my eyes skimmed the words quickly.

Zabuza Momochi, son of Eiko Momochi, formerly Junko Uzumaki, was born and raised in Kiri. Before the bloodline wars began in Kiri itself, he had come across a boy named Haku Yuki. Training him over time, when corruption in Kiri's government became clear as day to the Seven Swordsman, Zabuza joined in a coup d'etat and attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage. Having failed in both the coup d'etat and the assassination, him and some of the followers had escaped as Missing-nin with the Bloodline Wars starting behind them.

Working odd jobs as mercenaries to attempt to save up for another, Haku has stayed by his side loyally.

Haku Yuki, the only ice user of a dead clan otherwise, before meeting Zabuza had grown up with his father and mother in his village of the Snow. After being caught forming ice when young, his father had killed his mother and attempted to kill him out of fear and anger. Defending himself and fleeing for his life, he was found by Zabuza and stayed.

The contract, both explaining the situation and the agreement, made some sense.

Haku would be placed in Uzumaki protection officially under the guise of being a Uzumaki alongside Zabuza as his direct cousin, if he provides an actual child with an Uzumaki or Namikaze woman in the next 15 years. Being 15 years old himself, it made some more sense that he'd have until he was 30 to get a kid. Until then, Haku and Zabuza would be working directly under Toshiko's orders until we all are able to formally meet under non-violent terms and get a proper communication system through long distance going.

 _'Eruda is serious,'_ I realized. _'She doesn't just want to bring everyone together or to just_ _restore Uzushi, she wants to bring it back on the grid.'_

Goosebumps rose up my arms at that.

I wasn't completely sure on how I felt about it.

Toshiko needed me with mom's blood to undue the locks she had on Uzu no Kuni at the very least, but she also needed an acknowledged and famed Princess with power and the maturity to convince Uzumaki's and Namikaze to go home.

Restoring Uzu no Kuni also meant people returning home and grieving over the dead bodies left there. It meant the whole world relearning what happened there, becoming afraid or angry at the lack of justice. People who agree with the extinction of Uzumaki's will begin making moves to ensure we stayed extinct and children raised there would learn of Kumo's betrayal and Konoha's lack of help, of old treaties and agreements that they will want to throw away with excuses. They will want _revenge_.

 _'No.'_ Sealing the contract back into its spot, I stood up from the bench, scowling. Rolling the scroll back up and snapping the band back in place, I stuffed it into my pocket and began the trek home. _'We will not live in the past. We'll patch things up to continue surviving, but we'll move on and continue living. Anyone who wants to stop people from living with what they work for on both ends, can suck it the fuck up.'_

* * *

The next three days for Team 7 was spent away from each other.

Kakashi had participated in two council meetings as both a Clan Head of his one-man clan and as a technical criminal. Having taken his genin on a mis-ranked mission that _they wanted to continue_ , leading them into complete danger that could've risked the Kyuubi Container's and the last Uchiha's life, was spent being thought over for a whole hour with possibilities of punishments for the Hatake. Each one was shot down, and they ranged from demotion, D-rank missions, and being replaced. With suggestions on how each one could be carried out or at least why, the Third Hokage had suggested a simple separation period from the team. Not being related to any of them, he had no reason to be with them outside of training and missions. Since the Chunin Exams were coming up anyways and Kakashi had entered his team, it'd be two months long and his students weren't to be informed.

"It'd make sure whatever connections you have with your students, will be emphasized as only between a teacher and student," Adviser Koharu Utatane had spoken to him.

Sasuke spent his three days mostly in his apartment or old clan library. Having been ordered not to train by the Hokage himself, he decided to follow the order and spend his time searching for other methods to become stronger in both mind and body with possible training exercises. Finding scrolls filled with different jutsu's and fighting styles, and even a few about different types of weapons, he could've been found hunched over a yellowing scroll if any one of his teammates had found him.

Sakura tried forgetting about the Wave mission by hanging out with the rest of the Rookie 9 whenever she could. When her best friend/rival Ino had discovered the news of what really went down on their 'C-rank', they had a brief argument in front of Team 8 which Sakura confessed that all the carnage of dead things caused by Naruto's paper-jutsu's had scared her. Never being on their own higher ranked missions and having believed they knew Naruto, nobody knew what to say. Hinata Hyuuga, later through her stuttering adoration for Naruto, tried to calm Sakura's fears of the hidden girl's abilities, only for it to fail with a comparison to the confirmed, sand controlling Monster of Suna from Ino.

Naruto herself, took the time as a vacation from being a ninja and relaxed. Lying out in the sun on her apartment complexes roof, a clone was sometimes holding a book and turning the pages for her. Studying seals and reading up on history that dated back even further from before chakra was discovered, she could be sometimes found visiting Ichiraku Ramen for lunch and dinners with her eyes wandering up to the clouds, trying to place the way the world was before people began populating it once more. Having received a note on her door from the Third Hokage about the meeting with the Daimyo going to be a few months, there was another piece that made her face light up.

 _Your godmother is unfortunately busy with the Chunin Exams, but you will see her in it._

And despite the little dreading of facing a failing team, Naruto was excited. Pushing a limit that possibly made her even later than Kakashi for once, she walked through a civilian residential district, taking the fenced off alleyways with her hands in her pockets. The trees that gave the alleyway shade randomly relaxed her mind from her worries.

Unfortunately while turning a corner, she bumped into a slightly taller figure.

"Watch it, punk!"

Scowling, she looked up through her goggles into his painted purple outlined face and squared her shoulders. "You watch it, jackass!"

In a full black body suit that ended at his mid-calves, he adorned the usual weapon pouch on his right leg and a split in half purple and yellow circle stitched onto his chest. White straps lead to a large bandaged package on his back, and fingerless gloves were gripping into fists as his face, in the shade of his cat-like eared hat with his Suna forehead protector, was forming new lines as he clenched his teeth and glared harshly.

"You were the one not paying attention! Someone should teach you a lesson, brat!" Pulling at the straps around his shoulders and with a large thunk, setting the bandaged object on the ground.

"Kankuro! Don't, he'll come!"

"We got time, don't worry."

Pulling her own hands out of her pockets, Naruto felt her mood be ruined by the rude Suna nin before her. _'Instead of saying a damn lazy sorry, you wanna pick a fight!?'_ Channeling chakra along her arms, feeling her skin rise and become the paper her chakra was made of, she glared from behind her goggles.

"Ever think you should be nice to the ninja of the village that's hosting your possible promotion?" Practically shouting the question into Kankuro's face, the sandy blonde girl that attempted to stop him, took a warning step back to the left - eyes focused on the tree beside them.

While Naruto was practically immune to genuine killing intent, the Suna ninja weren't. Rolling out in waves suddenly, it took another second for Kankuro to feel it, freezing in his place. Jerking his head to the source, Naruto followed his lead and reached out with her chakra.

 _'Something is wrong with him.'_ Taking a step away from the stuttering Suna nin, she turned her body to him and stared up to the male. Standing upside down under a tree branch, shaggy red hair hung down to earth, exposing a tattooed kanji for love on his forehead. A short sleeved shirt that exposed a fishnet one beneath it matched the dark pants he wore, bandages wrapped around his ankles instead this time. A normal, white fluttering sash hung over a leather one that held a large gourd in place behind him.

Sea foam eyes surrounded by bags that dug into his face, pierced into what Naruto figured out, were his teammates. Trembling in their places, stuttering and almost whimpering their apologies at a threat to kill them for goofing off, Naruto could feel his chakra.

 _'It's like I'm feeling the darkness,'_ she thought. Anger and a bloodlust constantly emitted from his very core, never ending as it swirled outward in a vortex motion. There was a soft flatline she could feel from the very center, of an almost boredom feeling. Knowing that chakra was closely connected to emotions and people with no control flexed with it, she was left confused. _'If you're angry and taking it out on your teammates, shouldn't you feel happy or good about it, with it going away?'_

Watching him watch her for a moment, he disappeared from the tree and reappeared in a swirl of sand between his terrified teammates.

Finally calming her own chakra back into her skin, seafoam eyes traced her over at the action.

"What's your name?" Naruto casually asked, tilting her head.

"Gaara." Standing emotionless as he answered, she could feel the bloodlust in him rise at the interest she showed in him by that question.

Taking the information in with a nod, she stuck her hands back into her pockets cooly, and turning into the direction she was originally heading, she paused and leaned her head back.

"I'm Naruto, and ya know, something is wrong with your chakra."

Turning around to silently celebrate how cool she looked there as she walked away, she just missed the cruel grin that grew on his lips and the eyes bulging from his teammates at the daring comment. What she did not miss, was the bloodlust growing.

Finally making her way to the bridge that Team 7 normally met on, her thoughts trailed over the Suna nin's chakra, seals, and the comparison towards Sasuke. _'Seals can be used to contain physical things as well that don't go in them, like chakra on the person you put it on. Should try and make one of them properly, in case I have to fight that Gaara guy. But, Sasuke is constantly brooding or upset, and he doesn't feel anything like that...'_ Dodging the last of the busy civilians and even a few ninja, she made it to see even Kakashi awaiting on her, and grinned.

Sprinting to them and skidding against the ground, she threw her hands up behind her head. "Hey, sorry I'm late! Met some Suna-nin!"

"Liar!" Angrily pointing a finger with fire in her eyes, Sakura screeched at the top of her lungs. "You're even later than sensei!"

Waving it off wildly, Naruto looked to the last Hatake who sighed behind his book.

"Just try not to be late again, alright?" Closing said book and putting it back in his pouch, he rocked on the balls of his feet as he dug into another pocket. Pulling out three small cards, the size of average index cards, Kakashi passed them out to his students. "I entered you into the Chunin Exams here in Konoha and these, are your sign in cards to enter you."

"The Chunin Exams?" Sakura spoke up, eyes switching between her card and her teacher.

"Aa, it's a 3 part event that happens twice a year. Different ninja from all over come to participate in whichever village that is hosting it."

"Do you know what's going to happen in it?" Speaking up, Sasuke's onyx eyes glinted at the thoughts of the different types of genin that will show up and their abilities.

Humming for a moment, Kakashi's eye rolled up as he thought of what to say, not giving away the planned events and warning his student to bring their best. "Well, it's different for every village. The strongest from each village come, more to brag about their power than anything."

Nodding at different speeds, the three genin lost themselves in their cards.

 _'I can test myself against the others, and if I'm good enough, I can be promoted. I'd be able to take on more difficult mission and shinobi.'_ Sasuke stared into the starting date and time intently, a smirk touching the edge of his lips. _'I'll do it.'_

Biting her lip, Sakura gazed unseeing through her card. _'Naruto and Sasuke-kun are ready, but I don't think I am. They can beat me so easily..'_ Trailing off, she allowed her arms to drop at her side.

 _'I'm so damn ready.'_ Grinning at her sheet, Naruto felt excitement pool in her stomach and a slight tremor enter her legs, demanding for her to start training _immediately_. "Sensei, is this all you wanted to see us for?"

Tilting his head and rubbing at his chin, the last Hatake bobbed his head. "I suppose so. Even though you all just had a 3 day vacation, I bet you're going to train yourself into the dirt to make up for it rather than take missions. Just be sure that if you want to participate, to arrive in room 301 at the Academy, at 9am." Making a shooing motion with his other hand, he eye-smiled at them. "Go on, you chunin hopefuls."

Receiving a dazed nod from Sakura before she slowly walked away, Kakashi was able to see lightning trade between Sasuke and Naruto before they both made a run for it, throwing punches and kicks as they attempted to claim the empty training ground for themselves.

* * *

 _Kakashi was punished for endangering the lives of two political pieces. Sasuke is the remaining loyal decedent of one of the founders with an important bloodline and Naruto holds a bijuu, if it's lost, Konoha ruins respect with other Hidden Villages._

 _Most of this chapter was to begin introducing changes within Team 7. Naruto realizing that she has to become serious while keeping true with herself(cheesy as hell when put like that), Sasuke isolating himself, Sakura being thrown in way too fast for her to handle, and Kakashi - well, you'll see._

 _But yes, Sakura is terrified of Naruto's ability because it reminds her of Gaara from her time in Suna, as they're able to completely control something with just a lift of their hand. Since Naruto has been focused with honing her skills, she hasn't been meeting some people like before, such as Konohamaru. She will, trust me, it'll just be a little different now._

 _Posted: 8/31/16_


	11. Angel

_Warning: Feeeeels!_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Angel**

Kakashi Hatake was known to be a private man.

Despite all the public reading of porn books and random nights in which he participated in ridiculous challenges that people either hated or enjoyed, not even his self acclaimed rival could say what truly was going through his mind.

Which was, a lot.

Considered a prodigy, he rose through the ranks with a mind sharp as steel and fingers fast as the lightning he could hold.

When he was young, people had whispered in praise and gossip on what his own elemental affinity was. Some said that it was fire for the never ending will he held for Konoha, others saying rock for his sturdiness and fighting style, and even wind for how quick he could move.

Lightning and water were never suggested, despite his sharp tongue and in the end, how easily directed he could be like a stream.

Apprenticed under Minato Namikaze, that later became Team Minato with two others, it was the loss of every single person in his life, that his lightning strikes disappeared into dripping water from sad clouds once again.

His father, kicking off the Third Great Shinobi War after breaking the rules and saving his teammate, killed himself when Kakashi was just 8 years old. Directed into following the belief of Rules being above all, being his savior in moments of loneliness, and his comfort blanket when standing up against the world, it was ripped away once again.

Obito Uchiha, a boy with a thing for goggles somehow maintaining constant dust in them at 13 years old. When rules and orders failed Kakashi, resulting in the kidnapping of his teammate Rin, it was the death of Obito underneath a rock and a late promotion gift that began to direct Kakashi somewhere new; a place he wanted to forget that existed.

Rin Nohara, the girl that admired the greatest Healer known and aspired after her, was kidnapped once again. This time, she didn't want to go back home, with the ticking time-bomb sealed into her stomach that was set to be off to destroy her home. So when Kakashi held the lightning in his hand once more, she took it right through the stomach on purpose. She was almost 14.

Kakashi wasn't desperate for love, truly. He just knew when to hold on tight.

He couldn't have had any worse timing to hold onto who was left.

Red hair and soft smiles of Kushina Uzumaki, apron tied around her waist as she served homemade ramen. Blue eyes that were twinkling with joy, belonging to Minato Namikaze, who's elbow could be found in the stomach of his teacher and writer Jiraiya.

It felt like home to him, being dragged to homemade dinners with them, secretly enjoying himself throughout it all despite the snarky retorts and scowls.

When Kushina became pregnant, he willingly went baby shopping with her and when he wasn't, he was buying things on his own and hiding them in the baby's new room to be found later with snickers and knowing glances.

He wasn't surprised that Minato and Kushina decided on the name Naruto, it being a ramen topping, a force to be wrecken with in nature, and a hero in Jiraiya's first book. Unfortunately missing the ultrasound that revealed the gender, he still received a copy of _her_.

His Kushina-neechan allowed him to touch her belly at one point, and then teased him that he seemed more excited than her for Naruto's birth.

Naruto Namikaze, was going to grow up in a bedroom that was close to the kitchen, loving ramen and kicking boys asses. Pulling fun pranks and ending up on Minato's lap in the Hokage's office, giving puppy dog eyes and running free to cause more trouble. Attending play-dates with Kushina's best friends children, Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, she'd be taught how to throw kunai with Kakashi's help. She was going to graduate at 12 years old at the top of her class and be Kakashi's student under Minato's scary orders, being able to manipulate objects with just a flick of her hand, taking the chunin exams later and being promoted. She was going to invite her team over for dinners and watch them be scared off by the Fourth Hokage, sobbing in the corner at his little girl growing up.

Kakashi was going to be whatever she wanted.

He'd be her super hero, tea-party guest, guard, knight in shining armor, sensei, big brother, _anything_ she needed or wanted.

When the due date neared closer and closer to October 12th, he had returned from a mission on October 10th. Dropping by the Mission's desk to drop off the report he wrote on the way, he stopped by the Hokage's office and was asked by Minato on if he'd be willing to watch Kushina until her water broke. Sadly too busy with his Hokage duties and unable to do it himself, Kakashi found himself nodding in understanding.

Picking up the plushie he had someone make after his main and most intelligent nin-dog, it was forgotten on the front step of Minato's house when he arrived to Kushina screaming, holding her glowing stomach, water around her.

It was a blur for Kakashi. Throwing down one of the Fourth's kunai, the blond showed up in seconds. Orders were made, ANBU ninja arrived, and the ground began trembling.

Screams rang through the air, cracks ran along the ground, homes collapsed as trees tilted over.

Red glowing eyes were the last thing he saw, before being thrown into a room filled with other young ninja that were armed at the ready.

Kushina Uzumaki, filled with a fire that could set the world on fire and the chains to hold it still as she did, he found still on the ground, eyes open and dark. With a sickened complexion, there was an oddly peaceful expression that still fluttered across her eyelids as blood painted her lips to almost match her hair.

Minato Namikaze, glowing bright and lighting up the dark around him, stood tall on top of his toad summon. Gold dust flying around him as he held a baby in his arm, the last thing he saw was the child crying before his glow finally fell. Not even a whole day later, Jirayia left, his newest book sat ignored on Kakashi's night stand.

Naruto Namikaze never grew up.

Naruto Uzumaki did in her place.

Naruto Uzumaki grew up in a messy studio apartment, clothes, ramen cups and origami everywhere. Throwing his fists at anyone who even wanted to fight, his pranks left a trail of chaos as he was hunted down by ANBU to be punished, normally thrown back into class as he was hog tied. Demanding respect at the top of his lungs, he had no real friends that didn't notice him outside of the pranks, and no one to teach him how to throw kunai. He failed three different genin exams, and only graduated at the bottom of his class because a village traitor used him. He was taken as Kakashi's student only because he happened to be the worse of the class and his ability was destructive to himself, barely being able to control the twitching his fingers at the paper he created. There were no team dinners, barely even team lunches, and no parents to overlook his independent training or make him lunch on the days of activities.

He ignored the little boy, almost all of the time. In moments of his vacation, where his team needed medical help and a break, he stood out on the roof across from the Uzumaki's room, watching. In moments of weakness and no responses from the black obsidian that held his teams name, he stood outside the door, ready to knock.

He wasn't ever going to admit any of it to anyone either. He was too busy with ANBU. They needed the man-power, the money from the missions, to show that Konoha can stand strong no matter what's thrown in her way. Finally picking up the book that Jiraiya left, he bought every single one of the new series and suddenly there were no more urges to hold a stranger close and tell stories of his parents.

The psychiatric ward said he had a death wish.

Kakashi didn't want to die, he just wanted to be useful toward his village. Taking on the missions that even younger ninja than him were offered, he saved their lives in moments that almost costed him his own. He didn't want to be a famed hero, with people shaking his hand with eyes shining when he took out the dangerous ones threatening their lives. He wanted to see shoulders easing down at the lack of stress and to overhear stories of what they had for dinner, because they were able to make it home another night.

He understood his abilities, and though he wasn't close to too many people, he also understood when someone was overestimating their own for a mission. The anger and disgust he held at himself because he couldn't save everyone, faded with time and the rising of his own power. Still crushed at losing everyone, his bad habits remained as bad habits.

Reading constantly of things always going better for other people in books when he wasn't making things better through missions, he kept others at an arms distance. Staying late with awful excuses in memory of his old friend Obito, he continued unless there was trouble. Updating his team and family with no responses, he spent a lot of time at the Obsidian Stone that had all their names carved in.

Taken off ANBU a few years before he accepted his new team, he came back in time from the continuation of missions. This year, he had returned earlier.

Walked through each of their homes with the Third Hokage, importance was placed on each student.

On why Kakashi should give this Team 7 a chance.

He didn't because he felt like he owed it to Obito, and he certainly didn't because he wanted to finally see if the Uzumaki boy could be his missing Namikaze sister somehow.

He ignored the lump in his throat when he realized that Sasuke was too far gone to put aside too much of his pride for even the littlest of tasks, and he hid the ultrasound picture before Team 7's first C-rank, when Naruto didn't fill in his ideals.

Kakashi remembered battling Zabuza, the fake hunter-nin appearing, Sasuke and Sakura helping Tazuna down from the tree they hid him up in, and sitting next to a sad Naruto.

He remembered asking her on if she was okay, and he remembered seeing his new outfit _shimmer_.

When he woke up, he ignored the soaring of his heart for the situation at hand.

She was constantly busy without even trying on purpose. Her clones were always keeping watch around the island, she was helping Tazuna's family in breaking free from their oppressed shell, learning the Tree Climbing skill. He knew that he should've tried harder rather than waiting patiently, but he also knew that Sasuke needed to be watched after directly taking lives.

He was sort of content with just watching her, like he was that one Hyuuga girl.

Returning to the Leaf Village, Kakashi knew that he was in a load of trouble. Breaking protocol of informing _someone_ that a mission was higher ranked than it should've been, it was a C-rank that turned A and he allowed three genin to choose whether or not they should continue, never sending a summon back. Being out of commission, they went ahead and took on the problem head on without him even being anywhere near, putting the lowest ranked fresh-out-of-the-academy graduate in charge, it didn't matter how well the mission went.

He expected D-ranks, forced volunteering at the academy, training the other genin, a few high ranking missions away from his team, a cut pay, or a tax increase on his missions pay for a while.

Hell, he even expected to sit in Torture and Intelligence for a practice session on what would happen when not following _basic fucking protocol._

Instead, he was told to just keep away from his students.

 _'And of course, with the worse timing.'_

He promised his cutest genin that he'd get ramen and train one on one with her. That he'd explain everything he was allowed to, without breaking laws of what she held and keeping her less obvious heritage hidden. He wanted to talk to her about what she's been viewing, her hidden gender, and tell her stories of her parents.

So with an upset stomach, he visited the Obsidian stone again and spoke softly.

"One, two, three, four, five..." Through the thin trees that surrounded the stone for those who were Killed in Action, Kakashi could hear a familiar, scratchy voice counting out loud, all the way to twenty-five. Not needing to turn and search too hard, he could see the familiar black and orange figure doing push-ups and then, sit ups. Sitting down with his back against the stone, he kept his book in his lap as he silently joined in the counting.

"Kage no Bunshin!" Several poofs and smoke even aired into Kakashi's part of the training ground, different shouts of the same voice echoed all at once with one being the loudest of them all. "Alright, you losers! Come at me!"

This didn't count as breaking his punishment. Kakashi was just relaxing with someone training nearby.

 _'Besides, they don't know that I have a different connection. I was meant to be her brother.'_

* * *

The training itself was worth it and while I'm tired as shit at the end of it, sometimes the best part of training was walking off the pain, making my way home slowly before I passed out.

Konoha, while filled with eccentric people of both civilian and shinobi, still had its moment of either natural calamity or equally eccentric peacefulness.

 _"-hell and back with you, stay lost in what we found."_ Tonight appeared to be the latter, as though there wasn't any kind of festival happening, there was still soft music being played over the easing bustle. Lightly pushing my way through the crowd, I followed the soft music of what some people call a guitar. _"So fly on your own, it's time I let you go!"_

Arriving on the scene, people surrounded a few men that were holding and using instruments I've only seen in books, some watchers dropping off bills or change in a what looked like a guitar case, a few couples were even swaying together before the men in tune.

 _"I'm in love with an angel who's afraid of the light, her halo is broken but there's fight in her eyes."_ Looking up into the vocalists eyes, he had a far away look as he stared over everyone's head. _"Mm, walls are built to keep us safe, until they're crashing down. Worlds apart we were the same, until you hit the ground..."_

Lifing his chin up high, he smiled sadly as people softly cheered him on. _"Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm weak - maybe I'm blinded by what I see. You wanted a soldier but it wasn't me-'cause I could never set you free."_

Biting my lip, I took a step back, accidentally bumping someone who quickly grabbed my shoulder, keeping me steady. Muttering a sorry, the hand gripped just a little tighter, catching my attention for sure.

Following the hand up its attached limb, I recognized the flak jacket and mask sitting on top of his face. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Nodding, he stepped closer and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to him. Blushing, I wrapped my arms around his waist, hoping he didn't smell my awful sweat. _"So fly on your own, it's time I let you go, go!"_

Watching together, we continued to listen to the men play a few more notes before ending, and I couldn't help grip my sensei closer as the crowd clapped. Feeling his free hand run across my softly damp hat, I sighed happily when the hand through and down my neck, reaching my back and resting a inch below my breast on my left side.

"Maa, Naruto-chan, shouldn't you be going to bed soon? The exam starts the day after tomorrow." Nodding slowly and guiltily, I didn't want to leave yet. He and I still had to talk, it being almost 2 weeks from when he promised we would.

My eyes trailing up into his bored lone one, I allowed my thoughts to wander despite the repeating mantra that I was suppose to be his little sister.

Sitting on his lap, leaving kisses as I pulled his mask down. Kissing the scar over his eye. Him tracing my whiskers. Waking up next to him, nude with the sun shining on us. Playing with each others hair. Dragging him out of bed to team practice, still arriving a hour late. Sparring with him, him winning and ending the match with a kiss.

 _'He thinks of me as a sister._ _I'm not his type, I'm his neechan's daughter._ _He thinks of me as a little sister. I'm too young, I'm his sensei's daughter.'_ Shaking my head, I didn't realize I was tightening my arms around him slowly. Seeing his eyebrow raised high into his headband, I quickly let go. His hand that rested below my breast automatically dragged lightly along my back. _'I want to know what you're thinking, sensei.'_

Chewing on my lower lip, I stared into his eye. "Before I go, can we talk about that one thing?"

A blink later, his hand removed itself from my back and he bobbed his head once.

Grinning wildly, I gestured with my hands and with energy I didn't realize I even had, I turned around and almost jogged a part of the way to my house. Pausing in the entry of an alleyway that I hid in several times before after a prank, Kakashi-sensei took his careful time to catch up. Stepping over the mess of empty and old trash cans, I made it to the dead end and ripped my goggles and hat off, unzipping my jacket and pulling it open to show the small bumps in my tight shirt.

The stuttering light meant to brighten the odd trashcan area, I knew my features were darkened but noticeable to the man.

His eye wandered all over my body, and it was obvious that he was just trying to figure out how easily I could've hid my gender this whole time. Not as though it was mission impossible or anything, I was only aiming to hide my hair and eyes recently. Breast just barely reaching to B, baggy shirts and equally baggy sweaters make it difficult to notice anything going on normally.

Raising his eye to meet mine after his exploration, he leaned against the fence behind him. "What all do you know?"

Dropping onto my bottom to not deal with my sore legs, I folded them and tilted my head. "Kushina's my mom, Fourth Hokage is my dad, their relationship wasn't really public, and the Kyuubi attack happened because I was born."

"That's pretty much all there is," he replied. "I was the Fourth's apprentice, and he was assigned two other genin since he was doing so well with teaching me. We all ended up meeting Kushina overtime since she and Minato-sensei hung out quite a bit under the idea of them being related."

"What?" Reeling my head back, I knew that Namikaze's and Uzumaki's were technically cousins, but to be able to say you're that closely related?

"Mm, yes. Minato-sensei used the excuse of Namikaze being the branch of Uzumaki's like the Hyuuga's, but under different names."

My jaw dropped into a small O as I squinted my eyes, thinking it over. "So, why weren't you around then?" Receiving a blank response in his eye, I explained. "My childhood. I never met you before and I only knew about you because you're a pretty big deal."

"I was too busy with ANBU."

Snorting, I shifted in my spot. "Yeah, but not busy enough to save me from Mizuki in your old mask."

Crouching down to my level with a hard look in his eyes, I squinted at him in return. "Hokage-sama had called all chunin and higher shinobi that were available and locked down the village, to search for you. I put my old mask on to send some of the more than happy members the other direction when I caught onto your trail. Forbidden technique or not, I did not want to endanger you or Iruka unnecessarily when I could take care of him with no problem."

Looking down at the ground before his feet, he sighed.

After a moment, I spoke up quietly. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Was I suppose to be your little sister?"

Another moment of silence passed and I couldn't help but sneak a glance up at him. A thoughtful look crossed his eye before nodding. "Yes, you were. Kushina had poked fun at me quite a bit, saying I was more excited than her for your birth."

"Am I?"

He stood back up on his two feet and offered a hand. Taking it, I was tugged up off the ground with a smooth jerk. Releasing my hand, he ran his hand slowly through my hair, getting a feel for my relenting spikes. "Are you what, Naruto-chan?"

The words were lost in my throat. I was suppose to be an adult in everything but body, being able to attain whatever I wanted that came with the right to legally kill others for money. Being an adult included knowing what was best for me and what I wanted, and besides not taking too high level missions, I barely even know what was best for me. I didn't know what I wanted, besides to grow stronger, bring my clan together, and ramen.

I do know who I am.

I'm Princess Naruto Uzumaki of Uzu no Kuni, Paper Kunoichi, third holder of the jail key to the Nine Tails, prank master of Konoha, dead last of my years graduating class. Future Queen of a soon to be re-opened land, Clan Heiress of almost extinct shinobi clan, I was a genin of Konoha, hopefully soon to be chunin. I was not some bounty for my teammates to cash in together when I died, and everything I did made a difference with my position.

Everything I am matches with what I want, and will help me along the way.

But I also want my own family with someone I love someday. Children that have a piece of me in them.

Kakashi-sensei was not family, no matter how different things could've turned out, he was just my sensei.

One that I can at least admit, I was attracted to.

That I didn't want to be at all.

"Never mind," shaking my head underneath his hand, I stared toward the ground in between us. Even though I wasn't raised as his little sister, the fact that I would've been will never be erased from his mind. Feeling a soft spike be tugged, I lifted my chin to see an eye smile.

Hoping I wasn't going too far, I gripped the top of his vest and pulled him down so his eye reached mine at my level and wrapped my arms around his neck. Placing my face against his clothed neck, I leaned my lower body to press against his bent taller form. _'My heartbeat.'_ Pounding against my rib cage a million miles a minute, I closed my eyes as I felt his arms slowly snake around my waist. His chakra radiated awkwardness, but I almost didn't care. Flashes of him dropping me on his cock, telling me sweet dirty things, holding a leash to a collar on my neck.

Releasing him quickly with a face that I know was a tomato, he pulled back and stood to his full height. "I'm gonna go then, alright sensei?" Together, we made our way back to the entrance of the alleyway, being sure to step over the trash that still remained, I tugged my hat back on with my goggles hanging around my neck. Turning to each other, I waved at him before lightly jogging the rest of the way to my apartment, it only four blocks away.

Yawning when I made it to the stairs that would lead me up, I sighed before dragging my legs dramatically.

Reaching my floor, I walked to my door. I could still feel the sweat stick to my body but thankfully, it didn't affect my ability. It didn't stop the slight disgust at the smell coming from my armpits though. Yanking my sweaty hat back off and balling it into my left fist, my right hand unlocked the door.

There was no click of the door unlocking like normal.

Slowly turning my key back and pulling it out, I stood in silence. Listening and reaching for any possibly chakra signatures, there was one. Knowing the layout of my own apartment like the back of my hand, the signature was coming slightly from my left and at a distance, making me wonder on if they were sitting on my bed. I couldn't hear or feel the person move, and if they were breathing then it was very shallow and light. Their chakra though was very calm, large even, but still unfamiliar.

It made me feel sick to my stomach.

I felt like I had swallowed something rotten. With my throat drying up and feeling like the rotten piece of meat was steadily making its way down to my stomach, finally falling apart. Breaking into smaller pieces, it only continued to infect my body. Like I was water making its way down a drain pipe, anger seemed to sprinkle itself afterward.

The idea of somebody coming into my home, and sitting there as if they were waiting for me like a pet for their owner was disgusting. There were many methods people can use to communicate, because if this was an assassination attempt then it has already failed. Taking a deep breath, I reached out and opened the door slowly - prepared to defend myself from a possible attack.

My apartment was dark, and when I reached over to light up my apartment with just a flick of my wrist, my eyes quickly became accustomed to the darkness, and my theory of them sitting on my bed, was proven.

 _Click_

"Hello there, little Uzumaki."

Dropping my hand from the switch, I stared at the person before me.

With a lopsided bun on their head, an origami rose sat on top of faded indigo hair that still fell gently to her chin. Piercing amber eyes that still seemed to glow despite the light searched every visible crook in my body. Having subtle eyeliner form a small wing on each eyelid with hair-matching eyeshadow. A narrow but small nose, her chapped lips were a very light pink, only having a piercing right underneath her bottom lip. She wore a very large but form fitting cloak that was mainly black, with a red zipper and an obvious red inside. The cloak was decorated with red clouds that had white outlines. Her feet and legs were covered with a type of high and tight, black kunoichi-like heels with dirtied white heels. Her toes peaked out, and with a double look, all of her nails were painted a neon orange.

Swallowing, I wondered who she was. There was no headband, but the way she was just sitting on my bed, hands folded on top of each other and legs bent at a perfect 90 degree angle, back straight with a controlled expression after sneaking into a ninja village - it was clear that she was dangerous.

Raising her chin subtly, my eyes snapped back to amber ones. I couldn't help but notice the small crack in between her lips, and the way her shoulders naturally moved with her breathing, proving she was breathing quickly and very lightly. _'She can't be nervous, she seems...too controlled for it.'_

Raising her right arm completely, with her hand palm up I could feel her gather chakra. Feeling myself tense, I could also feel my breath get caught in my throat.

Folding itself right out of her hand, was fucking paper. I knew my jaw dropped a little at the pleased glint in her eye, but I couldn't help it. In her hand, paper was folding itself to create some kind of open mouthed cocoon. Only slightly seeing the center of said cocoon, did I watch further pieces stretch themselves, and only once the thin pieces reach near the entrance did flower-like buds grow.

Letting go of the apparent bouquet, I watched as it simply floated in the air, and the buds grew into large, plain white but complicated and gorgeous origami roses. Setting her right hand back onto her left, it floated its way to me slowly.

I almost couldn't control myself as my limbs moved me forward, dropping my hat as my arms reached out to grab the bouquet. With the only noise in the room being my pounding heart in my ears and my quick breathing, I nodded to her before I allowed my eyes to observe and analyze the gift.

I suppose she knew my first question before I could even begin trying to wonder

"I'm not an Uzumaki." Snapping my eyes back up, I held onto the roses a little bit tighter. I could feel her chakra in the paper, and it wasn't warm nor cold, but it was almost addicting to just feel. "I knew one. He was powerful, though he didn't seem to inherit the ability to use his chakra like any other Uzumaki." With a little twitch in her cheek, it dawned on me that she wasn't telling me everything, and that she found it amusing.

Barely finding my voice, I finally spoke up. "Then... how can you do this, too?" Lifting the flowers slightly, I hoped she understood my question since I feel like someone had numbed my mouth with medicine.

"It was in the middle of the Second Great Ninja War. The Uzumaki boy, myself and another had our families caught in the crossfire of the fighting and died early on. Anything we found to eat, had some kind of wrapper around it." Barely even moving her mouth in explaining, her voice never slurred though she spoke lowly. "The wrappers were our entertainment, and when we were found by a squad, one member had stayed with us. He wasn't an Uzumaki, but I suppose he must've been close to one to assist me." With only a tilt of her head, I just barely could see the black journal beside her on my bed spread. "Chakra is both physical and spiritual, and he was able to figure out that I could at least imitate the ability with paper. The teacher and I have recorded everything into the book."

I took a few more steps closer, noticing a soft tan line on her right middle finger as if a ring formerly sat there for years, despite her pale skin. "But why are you here..?"

Staring into my eyes, I want to say that it took her a moment to respond because she was thinking of how to put the words together, but it wasn't the answer to my question. Or, if it was - then it made no sense.

"You're the Kyuubi container." Squinting, I couldn't help but be confused despite the whirling caution in my stomach. There was no sigh that could tell me what she thought of her own answer or my lack of response. "Uzumaki, do you know what Lou-Gehrig disease is?"

With the shake of my head, I just barely caught the tensing in her jaw. "It's a neurological disease. It, destroys the nerves that transmits the messages from the brain, to their body." I could feel my eyes widen as my heart tightened. "Civilians call it ALS, but I was, diagnosed with it a few years ago." With silent anger in her amber eyes as she attempted to spit the words out, I tried to understand.

Because I was the Kyuubi container, or just because I was an Uzumaki, maybe because with a similar ability, she's come to me to pass on her knowledge? But it doesn't sound like she'd die just from it alone.

Though the anger in her eyes hadn't passed, I watched them soften. Slowly lifting herself off the bed, she didn't allow her legs to completely straighten. Only setting the book on my nightstand, she once again lowered herself to my bed, though this time she laid down. Using my pillow against her upper back and lower neck, I watched her have difficulties letting her legs straighten and relax. With an almost expecting glance, I walked forward at her silent command. Hesitantly sitting on the edge of the bed, I turned myself just enough to continuously face her.

Sitting in silence, I could feel the heat of the sun through my curtains slowly leave. The lure from the chakra made roses however, didn't.

"Is it true, that all Uzumaki's obsess over fuinjutsu related objects?" Feeling a flush of embarrassed, I allowed a small smile to flash despite the caution still pooled in my stomach. Giving her a little nod, she turned her head to stare up at the ceiling.

It didn't take long for her to begin coughing though.

Using only her hand to cover her mouth, I continued to stare at her in alarm. Sounding as if she was coughing up quite a bit of mucus, I was surprised when she pulled her hand away. Around her chapped lips, was unnaturally darkened blood. Resting her arm on her cloak instead of back on the bed, I watched as the darkened blood slowly made its way onto a red cloud.

Forcing a clear noise at the back of her throat, she seemed to attempt to swallow the remains of the blood. Almost turning my head the other way, she spoke up with a slight rattle in her voice. "I was, told that it depended on the, Uzumaki..." with another cough, the rattling worsened. "On the Uzumaki, that their ability was chosen."

Biting my lip, the woman I still didn't know the name of, observed me. "...I didn't know that."

Narrowing her eyes, I worried that I might've said the wrong thing.

"The boy I knew... he didn't have the chakra ability like you. He had something...much more godlike." Furrowing my brow at her sentence, I silently pondered on what it could've been since it appeared that she won't tell me outright. "You, Naruto Uzumaki..." it was with another small cough, one that seemed to pool a small amount of blood onto her lips that she was forced to pause. "You have paper, by default." Slowly blinking, the woman allowed her eyes to steadily open again. "...Why?"

Pulling back, I had never really thought of why before. As far as I could understand, it was just a random chance for me. My mother received chains, and in all of the memories I've seen - I never had some kind of explanation or reason why to question on how the ability was 'chosen.' My confusion was clear on my face, because her eyes softened once more as her bloodied chapped lips cracked open.

"I continued..researching the ways of using paper, because it was all I had."

My eyes were watering, and I knew she could see it.

It started making just a little more sense on why she came to me. It wasn't just the similarity in our signature abilities, it was because there was something about me. It could've been the obvious life that all containers lived of always being forced to suffer, or she could've been watching me after the word of Konoha having a Paper User got around.

A user who was from a clan that was said to naturally be drawn to brushes, paint and paper. A user whose abilities apparently depended on their entire individual being. The fact that this woman had made her way into my apartment and is now clearly dying on my bed, meant something.

It meant that she saw herself in me.

"I see, you realized why I'm here now..." Turning myself back to her, I tried to bring myself out of my thoughts. Nodding, I bit my lip again and slightly chewed on it. "ALS actually, doesn't have these, symptoms." Turning her hand slightly, I saw the drying blood once again that she had coughed up. It was with a little smirk on the corner of her lips, that had me wary despite her clearly weakened state. "ALS paralyzes people...leaving their mind in tact, but their body useless." Reaching into a pocket of her cloak, an empty clear bottle with a few drops remaining was pulled out. "I am not afraid to wilt...but I refuse to do it any other way..."

Having poisoned herself, the woman didn't want to live the rest of her life in a bed, barely being able to move. I didn't know how bad the disease was for her just yet, but for her to come here and willingly drink poison - it must've been getting worse. She truly was a flower and with how dangerous she could just appear, she must be a tall one with a bush standing behind her for her to come die with a stranger after passing down a journal full of her legacy.

Though my eyes had dried from watering earlier, I could feel the stinging heat return. I didn't know this woman, but she knew a relative of mine. She heard of me somehow, and sees me either as a miniature version of herself or finally found a piece of similarity after giving up some kind of hope.

I honestly didn't know and though I wanted to, I knew better than to ask the mysterious woman.

There was another coughing fest, and the blood that had came up was a much larger amount. Continuing my watching of the dying, I noticed her blinks becoming slower and longer as she stared up at the ceiling.

At one point I opened the curtains to the windows right next to the bed and lifted it up just enough, wanting to give her another view and sound to match it.

It appeared to please her, even more so when she could hear people happily making their ways home as the sun set behind the buildings. When it became clear that she was having trouble lifting herself to see out the window, I left momentarily into my closet to get another pillow, and helped lift her up to stick it underneath her.

We didn't talk too much after that. I didn't know exactly what to say and I think she was content with all that she had said. She still had several coughing fits, and at one point I had left again and returned with a towel for her to at least wipe herself with.

The amount of darkened blood grew each time.

I still don't know her name, and unless she was a known criminal or famed kunoichi from her village, then I might never know. To an extent, I'm okay with that. I didn't know how much of what she said was true about her Uzumaki friend and his apparently godlike powers, if she was truly just an orphaned child that survived the Second Great Ninja War, or if she really wasn't an Uzumaki. I wasn't sure on if I wanted any of it to not be true, because if it wasn't - then I'm just watching a family member die in front of me. Even if she isn't family and the fact that she knows another Uzumaki is true, then he's either been gone with all the past tense mentions of him and doesn't want to be alone in death, she's paranoid that I'll go for looking for him, or she refuses to die in front of him and doesn't want him to know how she's going out.

With her head turned to the window, and eyes half-lidded when they aren't closed, the sun has long ago set. Her chest was still slightly moving, though she was breathing much heavier with an audible rattle to it.

"Uzu-maki..." Snapping my head to her, I leaned forward from my sitting position on the bed. "Go to, sle-ep." Frowning, I shook my head. I knew that during my sleep, she would pass and I didn't want her to die with the noise of my snores and outdoor life through a window. She frowned back, slightly scowling.

Chewing my lip, I considered the idea of taking her to the roof of the tall complex, and laying next to her. Then she'd be able to clearly hear the nightlife of Konoha and the last site wouldn't be my dirty room or risking the chance of my slightly stained ceiling. Since the complex was quite tall as well, no ninjas really roof travel up there in case she was a known criminal or famed ninja from another village.

"Would you like to, uh, go to the roof with me? We can watch the stars..." trailing off, she softly smiled in response with a very small nod. If it wasn't for the dried and still moist blood stains, the situation could be less heartbreaking with my request. ' _Would you like to watch the stars as you die next to a stranger..?'_

Jumping up, I grabbed another towel and helped the woman up off the bed. Allowing her to use me as a crutch, I yanked my blanket off the bed. Balling it up, the dying woman and I hobbled up the three remaining stairs and through the roof top door. Giving her the blanket to hold for a moment, I held her tight enough to not fall out of my arms as I jumped onto the roof of the stairways and apartment storage room. Taking back the blanket, I laid it out.

Helping her gently lay down, I made sure that the towel was on her lap in case she needed it. Laying next to her, I felt the soft breeze and smelled the soft scent of pine, freshly chopped wood from construction, and aromas of restaurants below.

Turning my head, I checked on the woman one last time.

Laying on her back, her bun was still done and the origami rose was still in place. She wasn't smiling anymore, but her fading amber eyes shined with what was left on how pleased she was. Her body was flattened against the covered pavement as her hands sat on her stomach. Trying to prevent the heated stings behind my eyes, I hoped that this woman wasn't a criminal.

Turning my head to face the sky full of twinkling stars, I allowed my eyes to slowly close after the busy day.

* * *

Naruto later learned that her name was Konan. She was a S-Class ninja from Ameagakure that was sighted in the Land of Wave by Konoha nin, staring at the plaque that held the name of the bridge.

Paying for a dress and casket, Naruto had a one person funeral for the woman. When leaving, she passed by the Third Hokage walking forward her grave with a spiky white-haired ninja, that had tattoos of crying blood.

* * *

 _I didn't kill off Konan because I don't want 2 paper users, I killed her off for a completely different reason. Canon will be roughly followed when it comes down to huge events, but things will be a little different of course._

 _Poor Naruto though, diving head first into things continuously. Like genuine adulthood and feelings._

 _Uploaded: 8/31/16_


	12. Absolution

**Chapter 12: Absolution**

Eyes trained on the building that loomed over her, Naruto sat with her legs crossed. Arriving just at the crack of dawn, she saw people walk in groups of multiples of 3 head into the building, each digging into their pockets for a familiar card before entering. Most were wearing Konoha headbands, none being from Kumo, a few from Iwa, more ninja coming from the smaller ninja villages, such as Kusa and Ame.

 _Red._

Jerking her whole body out of place to follow the colour, Naruto leaned onto her left arm with her head lolled on her shoulder. Not finding it again, Naruto furrowed her brow and shook her head, rolling her eyes.

Every ninja was wearing variances of black to dirty white, some had deep purples and greens. Sticking out like a sore thumb in her burnt orange, she tapped on her knees feeling anxious.

"Dobe."

Walking with his hands in his pockets, side by side with Sakura, was Sasuke. Scowling already, his eyes were following the ninja that remained outside the Academy, in loose lines to go inside or on the playground with sneers. Ignoring them for a moment, he paused a foot away from Naruto and peered forward with a bored look.

Slapping her knees and rising, she glanced toward the fretting pink teammate. Sparing her a grin before falling in the line they automatically take in what Naruto will call moments of epicness, they pulled their sign in cards out and joined into the line of hopefuls.

Finally making through the door in several minutes of awkward silence and receiving odd glances at their options of brighter shades in clothing, Sakura in red, Naruto in orange, and Sasuke in medium blue, Naruto barred her teeth after hearing a snarky response of them being weak.

Turning in their information that confirmed them as contestants, they fell into old habits and automatically went to the stairs, climbing them to reach the exam room despite it being 8:12am; they stopped in the doorway to the second floor. Seeing the room numbers flash 301, Sakura snorted unladylike and put a hand on her hip. Sasuke smirked and took a large step toward the crowd that was gathered around it, their yelling echoing down the empty halls – only to be jerked backwards by Naruto.

"What are you doing, teme? Them not knowing it's a genjutsu, is not our problem." Hissing it as though she was a snake, when Sasuke roughly pulled his arm out of her grip, she rolled her un-seeing eyes at his action.

Leaving one last glance to the crowd gathered, Sasuke led his teammates up to the next floor, all of three of them missing pupil-less lavender eyes following them.

Finally making it to the 3rd floor with the real 301 room down the hallway after a turn, they paused outside of the bathrooms. "We don't know what's going to happen exactly, should make sure we're at least prepared like, this." Waving a hand toward the doors, Sakura gave with a little blush on her cheek, having made herself think of Sasuke pulling his pants down.

Quickly walking into the female bathroom with the door slamming shut behind her, Naruto froze for a moment as Sasuke walked into the males. Knowing that there were three stalls and two urinals in the males, Naruto followed Sasuke, refusing to look at him.

Reaching the stall furthest from the first urinal that Sasuke chose, she closed it and did her business as quickly as she could.

Flushing the toilet afterward, she walked out of the stall and washed her hands, ignoring the fact that Sasuke hadn't and was just standing in front of his urinal, glaring at her from the corner of his eyes.

Grabbing a few paper towels to dry her hands with, she glowered at him. "What? Sakura-chan doesn't know about me."

He shook his head slightly, turning to lean his side against the separator between the two urinals, zipping up his shorts as Naruto guiltily watched. "Not that. You stopped me from exposing that genjutsu."

"Seriously teme? If you did, you would've caused unnecessary trouble! It was just chunins Izumo and Kotetsu, not some other genin being asses," she replied irritated, throwing away the paper towels and walking past him, only to be pushed. Losing her footing for only a second, she caught it and immediately pushed him back. "Are you upset about the genjutsu or what happened in Wave still, because you avoided me every time I wanted to talk about it." Flying out of her mouth before she could control herself, she clenched her fists by her side.

Catching his balance against the separator, Sasuke lightly launched himself with a fist cocked, aiming for her face.

Dodging it and pushing against his chest, sending him backward, she barely saved him from falling against the ground. Steadying him and keeping him at a distance, she frowned. "Look, I'm sorry. It just sounded weird and, and, and just stop being _angry_ with me! All I did was be awkward, but you should know I'm damn right, back then and now."

Being pushed back hard, Naruto's back hit the wall next to the door leading into the hallway. Almost stomping forward and standing in front of her, Naruto continued despite Sasuke's prowl. "If you had told everyone there that there was a genjutsu, people would've targeted all of us for seeing through it and how the hell do you even expect to keep living after you avenge your clan, huh?"

 _Smack_

Slamming his hands against the wall besides Naruto's head, Sasuke almost growled. "You know nothing, dead last."

"I have eyes, asshole! I know enough. You're going to keep going after your clan killer, and you're going to forget everything else in your life, that you won't even be able to have anyone to want to bring your clan back with - _mmph!"_

Having been staring in between her tinted goggles and lips, Sasuke finally decided on paying attention to her lips. Roughly forcing his pair onto hers, her head was pushed back with a bonk against the wall as his tongue sloppily made their way into her warm mouth. Freezing for only a second, Naruto quickly pushed him away and he fell onto his behind.

She was hurt and she knew it. Some people that could've saved her from a lonely childhood, from hiding her gender, just didn't _want_ to in the end. Toshiko didn't come when she heard about the Kyuubi attack, there were no visits or letters from either god parent, and Kakashi hadn't even met her until she was placed onto his team.

Knowing that her small crush as a child on Shikamaru Nara had been temporary and wouldn't be revived from the dead and that she hadn't been exactly attracted to many other people, only craving the basics that any child should've had; a family, siblings, those to kiss her knees when she fell and to swing her in a circle by her arms. Growing up and now with memories of the dead themselves, Naruto faced the reality that nobody was going to rescue her from a lonely life and those who had the opportunity to do it, needed rescuing from themselves just as much as she did.

Of course, that familiar whirlpool that made up her chakra was churning as emotions began to rock her core.

She was hurt and she knew she needed to sort her feelings out, but rubbing against her teammate before a important event wouldn't help with anything. "Sorry, teme." She mumbled, reaching out and offering her hand. Glaring and pushing it away with his own, Sasuke was unexpectedly grabbed by his wrist and pulled up to his feet. "A bathroom before the chunin exams isn't the best place, ya know?"

The anger in his eye at being rejected again, this time on purpose and with a better reason than uncontainable giggles, bled into a cold understanding at her reasoning.

"Hey! You two done in there?"

Flinching at the angry tone of an impatient Sakura who was slowly gathering her courage, Sasuke purposely avoided looking toward Naruto and swung the bathroom door open.

Letting it fall shut after a disappointing sigh, having believed that he genuinely understood her reasoning, she took several deep breaths to calm herself. Swinging the door open and walking out with her eyes casted down, seeing a tapping foot connected to her angry teammate greeted her.

Rubbing the back of her hat with a cheesy grin, she watched Sakura roll her eyes in response.

Not needing to say anything more, all three began their trudge toward the exam room, and turning around the corner for the closed door that would stare daringly into their eyes; they instead saw the last Hatake, hands in his pockets, looking as if he was keeping guard at the door.

"Sensei?" Naruto sounded off first, hoping that the small crack in her voice didn't alarm anyone. Freezing in her place, she wasn't sure on if she should be angry at him or herself for expecting a teenager to save her at the highroad leading upward of his shinobi career. _'Hell, I don't know if I should act like that moment in the marketplace and hugging him so, sweetly, didn't happen.'_

Almost sprinting to their sensei, Sakura made it to him first as Sasuke carefully took his time, Naruto slowly trudging forward with the familiar feeling of dread at the bottom of her stomach.

 _'He doesn't know that teme knows, right? Oh god, I hope not.'_ Swallowing, she kept her goggles lowered. _'He'd find out that we willingly bunked together and he'd think that teme willingly dropped his towel in front of me when we went to the hot springs - Oh NO, HE WON'T MAKE ME TELL SAKURA-CHAN RIGHT BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DIE BECAUSE I ACTUALLY LIKE LIVING-'_

"Naruto, get over here!" Said female that would get very angry, shouted loudly toward her lagging teammate.

Throwing herself into a run the rest of the way to meet them, Naruto attempted to ignore her thoughts in favor of what Kakashi was saying.

"I'm glad that all three of you made it, even you, Sakura-chan. If all of you hadn't shown up, I wouldn't be letting you pass right now." Raising eyebrows, a pair of wide eyes and a jaw dropped in response, he eye-smiled at them. "You see, to participate in the Chunin Exams, you need teams of three genin. If one of you didn't want to, you'd have to wait until next time or a field promotion to become a chunin. Of course, depending on what your village leaders think, you will be promoted based on their assessment, so you won't always pass anyways."

Receiving two nods and one look of understanding, Kakashi felt as though he did his duty and stepped aside from the double doors. Pulling out his book from his pouch, he gave one last glance as they walked forward and opened the doors. Eye remained on a burnt orange back that when the doors slammed closed, he shunshin away.

* * *

Genin were spread all across the room. Sitting or standing comfortably or as threatening as they could, killing intent emitted with chakra rolling off in thick waves to enforce their image of dangerous. A soft murmur of gruff voices that reached all ages filled the room, the door slamming behind Team 7 making a loud noise that lowered the volume of angry voices, eyes of the voices beholder turning to stare at the three in bright colours.

 _'I didn't realize it'd be like this,_ ' all of Team 7 thought silently.

"Sasuke-kun, I didn't know you'd be here!" A small grunt from said boy caught the full attention of Sakura, fire reaching her eyes at the sight of a light blonde girl hanging off the back of her crush.

"Ino-pig, get off him! You'll crush him with your fat self!" Setting on a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, Sakura used the other to completely rip the blonde off his back.

"Oh jeez, you guys are here?" A flat voice spoke up, catching the attention of Naruto. Grinning at the familiar voice, she turned to two males, one thin and fluffy. The thin one had his hair pulled up into a pineapple, a fishnet shirt with a short sleeved and opened belly-like top that held the symbol of Nara clan, Konoha headband tied around his left arm. The fluffy one had a bandana headband, two holes cut at the top for his hair to point out. Red swirls on his cheeks, a white scarf was wrapped around his neck on top of his own opened sweater, and his bandaged fingers were holding a bag of chips.

"Shikamaru, Choji! I didn't think you guys would even have the energy for something like this," Naruto joked, giving a high five to a surprised Choji. "Did Ino drag you into this?" Remembering how pushy Ino was back in the academy, she wasn't too surprised when Shikamaru had a look of irritation cross his face.

"I guess the whole gang is back together, huh?" A loud voice that could only match Naruto's, had left her deflating with a scowl.

"I thought I smelled dog," she muttered grumpily. When it wasn't Sasuke in the Academy, it was always Kiba being what she called a _dog-fucking_ _dick_.

Parka with the hood pulled down, a small white dog was stuffed into the front of his jacket. Red triangles pointed down his cheeks, and his wild brunette hair matched his feral, slit dog-like eyes. Walking with an almost swagger from his confidence; he stood before his two teammates. Dark violet hair and soft lavender eyes focused on her tapping finger tips before her cream jacket, a blush was adorned across her cheeks almost constantly. Tallest member on the team and across the Rookie 9 stood beside her, eyes hidden behind shades and his jacket collared to hide his mouth.

A retort to her comment was on the tip of his tongue, but he reeled his head back. "Why do you and Sasuke smell like each other?" He scrunched up his nose, lightly barring his canine-like teeth at the scent.

"K-Kiba-kun, that's r-rude." Softly whispered, the tapping in between the shy girls fingers intensified.

Naruto only crossed her arms and continued to deeply scowl, not knowing that Ino and Sakura heard. Pushing Sakura out of the way, Ino planted her nose against Sasuke's shoulder and then pushed her nose into the back of Naruto's jacket. "Hey, they do smell like each other."

"Did you start a fight in the bathroom, Naruto-baka!?" Practically shouting it, Sakura formed a fist as Naruto dropped her arms and shook her head wildly.

Snorting, Kiba mistook it. "You wanted to get rid of the biggest problem of your chance of becoming a chunin that you tried to fight in the bathroom?" Petting Akamaru's head, he grinned. "You shoulda tried to fight me in the bathroom too then!"

"We didn't fight in the bathroom." Speaking up for her blandly, Sasuke's eyes turned to stare icily into Naruto's goggles.

"See!" Pointing to Sasuke, she shouted loudly. "Dog breath, we didn't do _shit_ in the bathroom," turning her body toward Kiba to start a loud and animated contest of name-calling, Naruto left her back open to Shikamaru – who narrowed his eyes at the sight of the tattoo on the back of her neck.

Having seen it a few times before, he knew it once was the kanji for Nostalgic. In its place was now Remember, and with a jab from his elbow and point at it, he confirmed that he wasn't imagining it with Choji. Saving it for later, he awoke from his observation at the gentle voice.

"You guys should probably quiet down."

"Oh yeah, who the _fuck_ says so?" Yelling in the stranger's direction at interrupting her name calling game, Naruto's nose twitched.

 _'Ramen?'_

The stranger was slightly taller than the Abruame of their group, with white haired tied back and bangs slightly covering his Leaf headband. Round glasses that emphasized his sweet smile, he wore a sleeveless belly shirt, arm bands and pants of a dark off brand of plums with a light, almost lavender normal undershirt matched closely with his hair. Smelling much like ramen, Naruto quieted down quickly as her heart fell.

She knew the difference between a spill and accidentally dumping a bowl on yourself, but not many people normally took a bath in seafood ramen.

 _'Something is wrong with this guy, too.'_ Having seen an S-class ninja come close enough under the radar in a Ninja village, she could feel the suspicion at never seeing him before. _'Big village yeah, but we were in and out of the missions office constantly.'_

"I'm just trying to give the rookies some warning, that's all. A lot of genin here are tense and ready for anything," gesturing with a small wave toward the still staring genin, the air that was light in the Rookie 9's group dropped.

"Ne, Kabuto-san, you sound like you've done this before?" Folding her hands before her, Sakura's question caught all their attention. Everyone looking at him, he smiled bashfully.

"This is actually my seventh time." Rubbing the back of his hair awkwardly, he chuckled at the surprised expressions. "The exams are bi-annual, so this is the fourth year in a row I've been trying."

"They haven't even started and the exams are already so troublesome," Shikamaru complained, head tilting up at the ceiling as his shoulders slouched downward.

Humming for a moment as all the Rookies looked down casted or doubting their abilities, Kabuto perked up as he reached into his pockets. "Since you're all rookies, I can help you out." Pulling out a blank deck of cards, he crouched onto the ground and set them in a small pile. "These, are my info cards," waving at them, all 9 rookies peered down to them.

"There's nothing on them?" Ino questioned as she crouched down next to him, balancing herself with her hands.

"That's because they specifically react to my chakra." Flipping one card off the deck, he pressed his pointer finger in the middle of the lone card – a small cloud with a soft poof – and the small card had turned into a map. "Just in case they get stolen, really. All the information I gather though, ends up in here. I have information on ninja, their villages, and even how many genin from each village have arrived for this exam."

Squinting behind her goggles Naruto peered down at the map, seeing numbers on top of each shinobi training village. Kiba spoke up though, "Information on ninja? What d'ya mean?"

"You give me their name or description about the way they look and main abilities, I can show you everything publicly known about them."

"Naruto Uzumaki." Kabuto's eyes widened at Sasuke's quick demand and glanced toward the orange and black ninja before nodding. Pulling out a seemingly random card, he placed it on top of the map before repeating the action of touching his pointer in the middle.

A picture of Naruto in her jumpsuit, grinning widely with blue eyes and blonde hair showed up on the upper left, a small graph of skillsets forming a pentagon, a list of missions done in what ranking, and her popular abilities.

" _Prince_ Naruto Uzumaki of Uzu no Kuni? One of the last known Uzumaki alive, is known to use the solid and _forbidden_ Shadow Clone Jutsu, and his Uzumaki ability is Paper. Is more proficient in ninjutsu than anything but graduated in the last of his class, and has done a total of 84 D-rank missions and 2 A-ranks?" The ones close enough to listen in on the information listed had snapped their attention forward at the name Uzumaki, recognizing the bedtime and horror stories as the rest of Rookie 9 staring at her in varioous states of confusion.

"Alright, you lost me. Where's the joke?" Kiba loudly whispered to Kabuto.

"There is none, my information is quite accurate," Kabuto replied carefully.

Naruto stared directly at Kabuto, a frown marring her face. She knew that anyone could figure out her little royalty status if they knew about her mother, about her clone jutsu and her paper ability if they saw her train or do a mission. What she couldn't figure out, was how he knew about the first A-Rank of Mizuki.

"Where do ya get the information then, Kabuto?" _'Something is wrong with you. I know that difference of spilling ramen, but you smell like a seafood special. If you're clumsy and spilled it all over you at the stand this morning, then I would've seen you. I would've seen you eating or I would've seen you come to the academy because I arrived super early. But I didn't, so tell me.'_ She thought, a twitching forced grin climbing onto her face.

"I have a lot of shinobi friends of all ranks, a bit of a perk of them being able to move up through the ranks though I can't," he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Clenching her fist, the grin on her face became tense. _'So you're a spy. Ya should've tried harder for a better reason.'_ It added up perfectly to her.

He had a stack of cards that would hold information that only showed at his chakra, full of a persons skillset, known abilities, missions completed, and most recently taken picture. He knew something that he shouldn't, the one thing he shouldn't have known. _'Nobody besides T &I division know what happened to Mizuki_, and _everyone overlooks my mom's royalty thing because she was set keeping the island closed and it was forgotten. My own team isn't even taking it seriously, but you are in your info?'_

A conversation passed over her ears as Sasuke and Sakura stared into her back, wondering on when Naruto had even taken that other A-rank mission. Suspicious of her odd behavior recently, Sakura frowned and crossed her arms in confusion and at the ridiculous ideas that passed through her head. Sasuke though, had a spike of jealousy.

Listening in time to catch more information that concreted her idea of him being a spy, he was explaining the amount of genin having arrived to the exams.

"From each village, several teams have been sent with their Squad Leaders. As a comfort, normally whichever village that is hosting the Exams, the most amount of genin that will apply is native there. For example, Konoha has the most genin entered currently." Tapping the number, he pointed at Suna and a music note. "Despite Kusa and Taki having the lowest numbers annually, this time Suna and the new village Otogakure of the Hidden Sound have the lowest. It's expecting of a new village that just started out, but not Suna, as they both sent one team."

The small crowd around Kabuto made noises of amusement and interest, Kiba raising his head to search through the crowd, noticing that some were still staring intensely at Naruto's back. Whistling lowly, Kiba snorted. "I guess you and Team 7 already made it to everyone's shit list, dead last."

 _Screech_

In the room of 3 rows of tables of 9 that fits five people at each one, there was accustomed tables stuffed against the walls in the back near the doors. An odd chair stuffed under the back tables or two on a normal day, the room was normally an exam room as well in everyday means, meant to prevent future shinobi in training from cheating off their neighbors. Pulling one of the many chairs out and standing on it, Naruto stood tall above everyone.

"Hey fuck faces, I don't care what your village is or where you're from, but if you step to me, you're going to get your ass _beat_! I'm Prince Naruto Uzumaki and I'm not afraid to fight a single one of you!" Throwing a fist forward for dramatic effect, her sky tinted chakra waved off all at once for emphasize - bits of paper physically pealing from her body as her chakra ran forward, forcing hair to fly back and all the windows to creak open with a slam upward. With a shout of hey from Kabuto, his cards were thrown into the air and out the windows.

 _Poof!_

"Listen up maggots," a deep and scratchy voice started in the flooding smoke, "I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor and for this moment, your worse enemy. First, you candidates in the back from Konoha, knock it off! Who told you you could use chakra, and get off that chair! Do you really want to fail before we've even begun?" Lined all along the walls and behind the man standing up front, every shinobi that had appeared was dressed in what Naruto recognized, was the standard grey Torture and Interrogation Division uniform. The man up front with scars covering his face adorned a black trench coat and matching gloves over his fists. "I'll say this once, so listen up. There will be no fighting between candidates and no chakra using of any kind unless you have permission of your proctor and even then, the usage of fatal and lethal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who thinks of trying to get around my orders will get disqualified immediately, understood?"

Having followed his orders of dropping down and containing her chakra, Naruto was furrowing her brow at him despite the accomplished effect she had with Kabuto's cards.

"Good. Now that we're ready, we'll begin the first stage of the Chunin Exams. You had been told a number earlier at the doors of the Academy, find your seat with that number. We'll start the written test once you are all seated correctly."

 _'Shit,'_ Naruto frowned.

"Hey, what if you don't remember your number?" Someone called out, and with a slam of the paper tests on the front desk, Ibiki tilted his head with a smirk.

"Then I guess you've already failed the first stage. Move it! We haven't got all day!"

Scrambling, shinobi and kunoichi searched for their numbers on the edge of the desks, but before Naruto searched for her own, she sent a foxy grin and a thumbs up over her shoulder to Kabuto, that was unfortunately caught by Shikamaru once again. ' _Take that, you spying creep!'_

Unfortunately, Naruto had been given a number that was pretty close to the front, still remaining in the middle row of all the desks. Only Hinata Hyuuga was near her, and by near, she means right next to her.

 _'This is how I die. Yup, I'm gonna DIIEEE!'_ Sending a nervous grin over to the blushing girl, she let out an internal groan when the room silenced in anticipation.

' _Tough luck for Naruto, that Ibiki guy is definitely not his enemy, tests are!'_ Scoffing to herself, Sakura let a smirk fill her lips.

Sending a foxy grin to Kabuto and a thumbs up that was caught by Shikamaru, Naruto tried to hide her inner panic at a written exam. At desk 53 and Hinata 54 to her right, she tried to resist the urge of stuffing her hands into her hat and pulling at her hair.

"Now that you're all seated, the written exams will be passed out. When I say go, you will flip them over and begin, but until then, we will go over the rules." Ibiki's harsh voice spoke volumes over the rubbing of paper being passed out, and with a fragile stick of chalk in his scarred hand, he spoke with the rules. "Rule number one is that the written part of the exam is on a system of point reduction. You begin the test with the perfect score of 10 points each, with 1 point deducted from each answer you get wrong. If you miss 4, your final score will be 6. Rule number two is that your team will only pass on the total scores of all three of you combined. You have to meet the quota of at least 20 points, or else you all fail." Hearing groans and a shout of it not being fair, he growled under his breath and went forth.

"Rule number three? You see all the shinobi stationed around this room? They have eyes likes hawks. They are here to watch you carefully any signs of cheating, as each time you get caught, 2 points will be deducted from your score. Anyone a fool enough to get caught cheating by other shinobi, do not deserve to be here!" Setting the stick of chalk back down where he found it, he turned toward the crowd. "You will be given the 10th question 10 minutes before your one hour limit is up." Smirking widely at teammates glaring at each other, eyes wide with doubt and nerves, he crossed his arms behind his back. "Begin!"

Naruto was freaking out. Leg bouncing up and down underneath the desk at an impossible pace, both hands were pressed against her hat with the pencil being indented harshly into the fabric.

Having flipped her sheet over with twitching fingers and skimmed the questions, she knew she was doomed.

She could not answer a damn thing on that paper.

 _'Just, just calm down! It's only been 10 minutes, I'll figure something out!'_ Trying to control her racing thoughts of doom, she took several deep breaths slowly and felt a slow build up of chakra being used in the room from different locations. A shiver went down her hunched up and tense back, nerves and the death glares of Sasuke and Sakura being sensed easily. Goggles hiding her exact eye location, she recognized the back of the rude Sand-nin, Kankuro.

She also recognized all the Konoha shinobi above genin ranking in the room, having pulled a wide variety of pranks in places she didn't belong and being chased down for them all, she knew that genin were paid to clean up a few of her messes for D-rank missions, all chunins in the village hopping from rooftop to rooftop to scout her out and inform all ninja to find her or to report her if they hadn't connected the dots.

Naruto may not remember the names, but she recognized all except the one tying Kankuro's hands to lead him into the bathroom.

' _Is he a spy, too?_ ' Biting the inside of her cheek, she reached her chakra out in an attempt to familiarize the source of the unknown man - until she realized that he had none and Kankuro's chakra was expanding to control the 'man'. _'He's just cheating..?'_

Relaxing her shoulders and releasing her leg from it's pounding, she lifted her head up high and searched the room with her chakra and senses.

There was a set of mirrors on the ceiling with a few small ninja wires connected to a girl with twin buns in her hair. Tapping of pencils weren't random nerves getting to people, they were different rhythmical tunes with well known lyrics that teammates must've understood to be able to reference their exam questions. A gentle buzzing of small bugs that she could see rest on shoulders and heads made a constant trip to an area behind her, as interrupted soft whimperings of Akamaru clashed with a soft tingle of bells.

Sending a glance to the shy girl beside her, she saw the eerily and thickened veins bulging with chakra enhancement to lavender eyes.

When it had hit her, the tensing in her body completely eased out.

The action caught by both her teammates, their own firm expressions had melted into ones of concentration instead. In Sasuke's thoughts, he was swearing at her, stressed and uncertain of his own accurate answers without the Sharingan's abilities of mimicking. In Sakura's overall mind, she was ranting and raving of him being able to use 'his' paper to cheat, unlike her actual book smarts that was answering hers. The deranged threatening glow disappearing from her eyes, was Ino Yamanka's clue that Sakura's exam must be done and therefore, she threw her mind into Sakura's before memorizing her answers.

Switching to Shikamaru's and Choji's, the light haired blonde returned to her body with a smirk.

So with a glance toward the nearest chunin, Naruto turned to stare at the frowning Ibiki. His eyes glancing between a clipboard in his hands and into the eyes of genin that dared to stare anywhere than their exam sheets, the carrot-top's thoughts trailed to her techniques.

 _'I could send origami crows to the ceiling? But then how will they tell me what the answers are, 'cause unless they're a henged clone, it wouldn't work. Everything else won't work, unless I make a huge distraction too.'_ Looking along the edges of the classroom at all the chunin, she waved the idea off. Rereading the questions, she furrowed her brow. _'I know we're suppose to cheat, but not even they could answer this kinda stuff.'_ Scratching at her hat, she took it back. _'I don't think even jisan could answer this, hokage or not!'_

Jerking her head back in realization, she flipped her sheet over and stared up at Ibiki.

Sending a fox-like grin to him that had him scowl, her hands comfortably sat behind her head.

 _'Once upon a time, a long time ago, the coolest kunoichi in training found a map layout of a underground building. With markers and buckets of fun things, each big room was decorated with a trap. Trip wires for launching balloons and buckets, doodles of angry senseis and hokage hats with red Uzumaki swirls went on all the hallways. All the big rooms were a distraction for the main event though, 'cause the main office had a camera. Two trip wires, one to put the other in place, the big boss sat behind his desk.'_ Giggling manically that had a few takers glancing at her, she ignored them. _'When everyone came in for work, they were attacked by the distractions! Heading to his office, when the door open, the ceiling tiles fell with frogs and fish sitting in big batches of ramen mixed with hair bleach.'_

Blowing a kiss to Ibiki, whose left eye began twitching in irritation, Naruto remembered the prank proudly _. 'It was when they started sending the ANBU after me.'_

To everyone else in the village, it was known as the day Torture and Interrogation Division became much more menacing. Uniforms that ranged from a faded green or plain grey, personal styles were not permitted anymore. Only black trench coats could be thrown over with blank gloves, all vests that symbolized any other ranking outside their division were forbidden unless worn casually. Bald heads that reflected wounds on those who didn't want to be targeted once again, the others grew their hair in wildly and uncontrollable.

Whipped in shape, once entered the underground faculty that made up the Torture and interrogation Division, emotions were erased from facial expressions, only sadism reflecting in their eyes and the pained faces in their forehead protectors.

Ibiki Morino remembered that day clearly. The few nameless ANBU that were sent to stand on guard with the higher leveled prisoners awaiting for their fates were sent immediately to capture the orange culprit by Ibiki, assuming them to be a childish and local criminal with petty intentions of a previous situation, until Ibiki observed the damage to the hallways. His deep coffee shaded hair was rapidly turning into a disgusting mash of a bronzed gold to pale yellows, grey shirt with brightening specks of purple and a small itching sensation across his skin where the mixture hit him. Only paperwork waiting for him, he without further ado, contacted the Hokage and pulled out a set of order forms to be approved of, the T&I's locker rooms overflowing with trading of shaving orientated items.

Passing out the old uniforms that were once used for identifying those in the medical field as a gift from Uzushi, the style had an effect that Ibiki enjoyed.

Naruto never knew that it was her fault, only that it was the day several shinobi shaved their heads bald.

 _'If one rule doesn't count, then the others must not other than to give you a reason to boot us out. I bet you did this on purpose, scar-face, so I guess I'll wait for that last question.'_

Checking the clock, there was only 17 minutes left until the 10th question.

"Genin 29, get out." The false silence was broken by Ibiki's demand.

"What? For what!?"

Tapping the end of his clipboard on the pedestal beside him, he smirked. "You've been caught 5 times. Genin 93 and 107, you can thank him for ruining your chances at becoming a chunin this year."

Panic spiked in chakra and emotions, desperation hitting Naruto's nose.

Cracking her knuckles, she lost herself in her thoughts and ideas despite the droning of numbers being called and groans as the door slammed.

 _'I wonder when I get to meet that Haku guy and Zabuza again. Eruda said if I didn't get to the final event, they'd still be here, but what's the final event? Maybe team matches against each other? Ehh.'_ Squinting her eyes, she took her exam and began folding it to the horror of the Hyuuga next to her. _'We'll fail that then. But maybe we just show off our skills? Like just beat up a dummy in front of a village representative.'_ Forming an origami rose, she un-did it to create another piece, she frowned to herself. _'I need more jutsus then, or to practice more seals. My speed with the thingy Toshiko suggested sucks and I barely figured out how to make a chakra suckin' seal.'_

Placing the large hopping, origami frog on the desk, she flicked it softly, it bouncing across the desk. _'Maybe I could create a seal to hold and store chakra for my origami jutsus?'_

"Pencils down!" Soft cuss words as the chakra in the room cut and lowered, the pencils being placed down in defeat, doubt, and different levels of anger. "Do not throw your pencil. Get up and pick it up, _now_!"

As a shinobi from Ame, face flushed into a deep red in the front row got up from his end seat and picked up his that landed near the chalk board, the doors from behind opened once more, the unfamiliar chunin with Kankuro's wrists tied came in noisily. Rolling his eyes, he stared with a look of unimpressed toward the cat-like ears. "Are you done with your little act, genin 19?"

Wide eyes lined by purple paint made him drop the act, returning to his seat in a hurry.

"The tenth question that I'm about to give you, has an additional rule to it with the approval of the Hokage himself." Murmurs of curiosity and once more, self doubt filled the room as Ibiki stood firmly. "You can choose to leave now if you like if you don't think you can handle it, and take the exams next time they come around in another village." Waiting another moment, he smirked. "The rule is, if you fail to answer this question correctly, you will never be able to take the chunin exams again."

"What!? That's not fair!"

"Hokage-sama would never agree to that!"

Slamming the clipboard against the pedestal, it broke under the pressure. "Shut up! I did not give any of you the permission to speak!" Nearly ripping the sheets of paper that were pinned under the metal, he lazily threw one of the pieces into the crowd of genin - almost hitting one in the face. Finding a sheet near the end of his stack, bold words of 'Chunin Exams, Phase 1 Approval' could be seen from the back of the room if they squinted. At the bottom, was the Hokage's loopy signature. Turning it to face the genin, he snarled. "He did. Agreed, signed, and sent copies to the other Kage's."

Kiba was the one who stood in his seat, scowling deeply. "There are people here that have taken the exam before-"

The other half of the clipboard was accurately thrown at his forehead, hitting him squarely and sending him back into his seat. Tossing all the sheets of paper besides that one into the air to float lazily to the ground, it crumpled under Ibiki's fist. "I've never been in charge before, that's why it's new this year. Of course, taking the 10th question is up to you. Will you drop out now and try your luck at the next exams, or will you face the chance of never being able to become a chunin?"

The air was tense, filled with a heavy atmosphere that pressed down onto the backs of those with their futures in their hands.

One nameless genin, fists clenched against his kneecaps, had tears gathering at the edges of his chocolate coloured eyes. Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, he shot up loudly - bumping his upper thighs roughly against the desk before him. "I give up! Goro, Hideaki, I-I'm so _sorry_.."

He was the first of many.

Groans of upset teammates were blocked by their numbers being crossed off, lines of former contestants walking out of the room, shouts erupting at each other beginning when they passed through the door.

Twisting her body around to find Sakura three rows behind her, and Sasuke four in the aisle to her right, Naruto noticed the confident determination across Sasuke's face, but caught the insecure and uncertain expression of Sakura's. Fists balled on her exam sheet as emerald eyes stared into them hopelessly, with her lower lip being attacked roughly by her teeth. Another glance toward Sasuke confirmed that he could somewhat see their hesitant teammate.

Facing Ibiki once more, Naruto's eyes narrowed and her fists violently banged onto her desk.

"You think you're so clever, don't you!? Our ranks will not define our skill level, and it will not hold us back from what we want!" Pointing a finger at him, she crawled on top of her desk and stood tall. "I'm still going to be a Clan Head, and even King for you to answer to someday, and _you_ sure as hell aren't going to stop me from doing anything if I fail this, scar-face!"

Dramatically falling back into her seat, legs crossed over the other on top of her desk, she opened her arms as an invitation to kick her out right then and there.

Frustration replaced Ibiki's pleased expression. _'This damn he-she kid, whatever her real gender is, has erased everything I worked for, at least without humiliating me this time.'_

Waiting just another moment, in which his eyes traveled over all the remaining genin, he sighed. "You all passed."

"..What?" The four pigtails of Temari's bounced as her head shot up, emotional exhaustion at being put on edge so much mustered into the one word.

"You all passed. This part of the exam was supposed to show your information gathering skills. With a score system that will hurt you if you get caught or have a answer wrong, it represents the future missions you will take as a Chunin." Erasing the board, Ibiki once more picked up the piece of chalk and wrote what he was saying. "You have been hired for a mission by a client that is dealing with an army of thugs with possible low to high ranking ninja in their mist. To gather information to attack, avoid, or defend yourselves against them, you have to be careful, as if too many pieces are out of place or obvious in your observation, they will notice. If your information is wrong that when it comes to make a move, you might fail the mission."

Turning back around stiffly, he lifted his bandanna slightly to show a nasty, improperly healed scar. "However, the reality doesn't end right there. They do not kill your client and walk away for you to return home. If you are caught attempting to gather information, they may capture you. Rape, kill, torture, those thugs will do whatever they please. The possibilities are endless, putting the rest of your team in danger if they attempt to rescue you. Even if you just have inaccurate information on their abilities or numbers, that doesn't exempt you from dying."

Smirking cruelly, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the board. "This is the life of a Chunin."

"Then what about the thing Hokage-sama signed, Ibiki-san?" A boy with a bowl cut haircut and thick eyebrows almost shouted.

"It's the actual approval for my proctoring the first phase, but nowhere in here does it say that if you fail you won't be able to try again."

The silence of the room was filled with disbelief, genin sitting in their places numbly.

"Then, then what was the point of the final question?" Sakura asked, an odd surge of deflated roaming through her arms for nearly falling for it.

"Isn't that obvious? It's to test your conviction to truly become a chunin." Seeing the blank expressions of not understanding, he closed his eyes in irritation. _'Isn't her sensei the Hatake? I thought he'd be teaching them all his crappy sayings.'_

"You will be given missions to steal and will sometimes have to kill along the way. Doubting your abilities or yourself, is not an option. To be a Chunin, there will be missions where it will only be your will power and maybe blind faith that will get you through it all, your doubt coming with a single second of hesitance for someone to strike the killing blow at the worse of days. Those who had willingly raised their hands and walked out, some taking their unwilling teammates with them, are not ready to be chunin and will not be ready to take higher ranking missions that will require trust and confidence."

 _Crash_

The window on the left side of the room was smashed, kunais with white string attached were thrown against the opposite wall as a white ball unfurled, revealing a long banner and a scantily dressed woman. Tan trench coat over her fishnet shirt and orange skirt, shin guards above personalized shinobi sandals, Naruto recognized the spiky purple hair.

 _"Old enough to kill, old enough to drink and fuck."_

Behind her, the banner introduced her as she grinned. 'The sexy and unfortunately single, Anko Mitarashi!'

"My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I'm your 2nd Exam proctor!" Posing with a hand on a hip and the other pointing into the batch of genin, her grin and pose faltered as she began mouth numbers as a finger pointed at everyone in the room. "Seriously Ibi, 26 teams? Man, you must be getting soft!"

With a grunt, Ibiki shifted behind the banner, not really bothering to make an effort to come out. "It appears we have a nice batch this year."

Anko only snorted and crossed her arms with a smirk. "Don't worry about it, I'll fix your mistake and cut their numbers in half." Throwing a hand up in the air, she began shouting once more. "All of you, follow me to the second phase! We will begin when ready!" Hopping onto the first set of desks, she aimed for another window to break through happily.

After a whole 30 seconds of wondering what to do, Naruto was the first to climb onto her desk and jump into the largest window in the room, shattering it to the pieces with a grin. Sasuke and Sakura following more politely, opening another window before leaving through it, the rest of the genin following their example of not smashing property.

* * *

Arriving to an edge of Konoha that not many could put a name to, Naruto crossed her arms and huffed. "You're joking, _right_? This place?" Leaning her head back, a loud groan ripped out from her throat as she fell onto her bottom.

"How do you know this place?" Shikamaru asked, suspicion growing at the pit of his stomach toward his old classmate's odd behavior recently.

Everyone grouped into their teams, the Rookie 9 gravitated toward each other naturally, everyone either turning toward her groan or continuing their stares into what was behind the colossal chainlink fence. Trees that were unnaturally overgrown had matching bushes, not even remotely being blocked by the signs that demanded no one to pass through or to equal death. "Don't you know who you're talking to!? I'm the prank master of Konoha, I've evaded ANBU for years, so of course I know the Forest of Death, Shi-ka- _ma-ru_!" Raising a fist at him threateningly, she barred her as she dragged out the syllables of his name.

Staring at her from the corner of his eye, the shadow user said nothing in response, only turning his attention to the new proctor when she whistled for it.

"Alright maggots, as the prank _master_ has spoiled," dragging out the master part, Anko gave a wink - having seen the newly updated files of all the participants, she knew the prank master was truly a prank mistress, "This is the Forest of Death, officially on the books as Training Ground 44. You will be competing in here for the next five days."

"Five days!? What about food!?" A few crumbs fell forward from Choji's mouth as he shouted, clutching the bag as though his life was dependent on it.

Raising an unimpressed eyebrow, the smirk she adorned was of a casually sadistic nature. "The forest is full of food, you just have to go through for the extra effort to make it reach that wonderful, _crispy_ , point. There are going to be, _creatures_ , that want you to reach that point as well." Drinking up the terrified expressions of some, she reached into one of her coats pocket, pulled out two scrolls with the kanji of Heaven and Earth. "These though, are part of your objectives. Each team will receive a Heaven or Earth scroll, and you need to take the missing scroll from another team. Do, not, open, these! Once you have both, you will head to the tower in the center of the forest. "

Flashing a crudely drawn map that showed a river splitting throughout the forest and a tower roughly in the middle, she hid it once more.

"Everything will go once the exams start, so for your admissions, I need you all to sign these!" Waving a thick pile of stapled papers, she grinned feral. "These are waivers, so if you die - it won't be my fault!" Chuckling under her breath at the wide-eyed expressions, she began passing them out. "When they're all signed, you and your team can go into the booth over there and receive a scroll and gate number to wait at until we begin."

Gesturing with the stack to a wooden booth with three more T&I dressed and ready shinobi, there was an adjustable flap over the front to keep the others from viewing who received what and who was hiding it.

Whacking the back of Naruto's head with her stapled forms, she watched the princess snatch the forms and scoot on her behind to a less populated area.

It didn't take too long for everyone to sign the forms, but it took a tad longer for everyone to file into the booth and gather their items. Some shinobi had unfortunately come unprepared for a survival-lifestyle that fitted to the heavy aura of war, while others had come prepared in skill and habit.

Kabuto's team had a shared pack that Genin Yoroi was holding with the Heaven scroll, Kabuto's eyes glinting behind his glasses.

The Sound Team, with cheek-pulling grins of bloodlust were prepared in skill, having only packed extra kunai that their Earth scroll was tucked against.

The Suna Team only allowed Gaara to lead them, armed to the ready, heads hung low with their Heaven scroll wrapped into Kankuro's puppet.

The all female Kusa team simply put their Earth Scroll into the leader's pockets, staring almost hungrily at the Konoha rookies.

The other Kusa team had a red head was staring in between the two 'male' members of Team 7, Heaven scroll hidden in her kunai pouch.

Team 10, with a small tremor in their knee caps, shared knowing glances toward Naruto as their Earth scroll was tucked underneath all of Choji's snacks.

Team 9 containing a girl with two buns in her hair named Tenten, the boy with bushy eyebrows known as Rock Lee, and the Hyuuga prodigy of Neji, had their own Heaven scroll sealed into one of Tenten's many. Staring at Sakura, the hearts in Lee's eyes went unnoticed by his team.

Team 8 stood stiffly and nervously, Earth scroll tucked into Kiba's parka.

Team 7 had their Heaven scroll stuffed into one of Naruto's many seals along her arms. Catching all the stares, the members of Team 7 stood strong, walking to gate 13, heads high and eyes forward. With only a flick of her wrist, Naruto summoned her parasol and let it sit on her shoulder as though it was a bat, silently whispering between the two on a game plan having known the layout better than anyone else besides Anko.

"When I said everything goes, I truly means everything goes. The only way to complete this exam is to head to the tower before 5 days is up with both scrolls with all of your teammates alive!" Shouting into a megaphone, the cruel humor in her tone was not missed. "A word of advice? Don't die!"

Her deranged giggles weren't unheard or ignored as the chainlink fence began sparking, lightning electrifying the towering fence.

"Begin!"

The gates swung open.

* * *

 _Not that Naruto is going to ignore anything and everything that bothers her; she's just a "deal with the situation at hand" kind of gal, in which this situation, written tests are her downfall._

 _To answer a guest and another's question, Sakura, having lived in Suna before Konoha, has seen the difference in ninja. Wind and Fire users – many of them use both hands for handsigns. Speed is impressive with the higher up they are and some are even able to use one hand, but they can't control freely like Gaara and Naruto automatically can, literally being made up of Sand/Paper unlike the Nara's control. Everyone whispering to stay away from Gaara the Monster, he showed Suna that they were right on him being a monster by killing. Everyone whispering to stay away from Naruto the Monster, she pulled some pretty mean and humiliating pranks._

 _Next chapter: The Kids Aren't Alright_

 _Uploaded: 9/11/16_


	13. The Kids Aren't Alright

**Chapter 13: The Kids Aren't Alright**

Temari wanted to puke.

Her confident backbone stemmed from trust in her senseis and her own abilities, growing up a tad too early to take care of a large household from a neglectful father, surprisingly able to keep a stable head on her shoulders. She had no personal qualms about her early childhood, despite being the oldest in a troubled home and the one those turned to in moments of blame and dread, reliability fading quickly on many people.

She dreamed of being a kunoichi and when she finally received her headband, she wore it with pride. Creating tornadoes and forcing screams that ripped from anothers throat, the doublelooks growing as she crossed her legs, and the never-ending methods and possibilities for self defense with any innocent object when supposedly vulnerable.

Temari has killed, and she's fine with it.

Life fading away from a pair of watering eyes, necks bent horribly with a misplace spinal vertebrate, blood slowing its way out of wounds from a lack of a heart beating, oh - she's more than fine with it.

She just doesn't understand why someone's death has to be dragged out.

Hours have been spent scowling into a mirror as she tried to connect the dots.

 _'Once they're not in the way, why bother anymore?'_

Her tolerance level was once very high.

Oldest child and only daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage, she grew up without too many friends, them being too intimidated by the shadow casted down by her father and the sand beneath her feet, mostly controlled by her youngest brother.

When her tolerance lowered steadily over the years, Temari had depended on the hope that once she was a Konoichi of Suna, she wouldn't be responsible for the deaths of children who didn't follow their instincts to run. That she didn't have to stick around and watch parents sob for their dead offspring and feel the growing bloodlust in someone she had sworn to protect before ever breathing. Only one child made it away after blood splattered their face with the help of several ninja in one of the several, failed, assassination attempts.

Living on a balancing edge, relief flooded her system when she passed the genin exam.

Only to be placed onto a team with the source of her dread.

Temari wanted to puke.

She wanted to drop down and begin sobbing, the tears on her face taking the warm blood with each drip.

In the middle of a Training Ground of another village, where killing anyone was permitted for the next 5 days, her youngest brother roamed freely. Sand snapping at feral tigers and snatching birds out of the air, when two Ame genin dropped down and attempted to attack, the sand acted as though it was the insane beast that resided in her youngest brother's stomach.

Blood had rained down on her, and it was only 20 minutes into the exam.

The third Ame genin, now team-less but left unknowing, attempted to attack what he thought was the weakest team in all of the exam. Taking out the one with the highest amount of chakra who was fumbling with their shorts, their arms were tied up as they hung upside down from a tree. Henging into the orange genin with few noticeable differences, he walked forward, taking on a persona of clumsy and oversharing.

It took 30 seconds for Sasuke to figure out the situation, and only 10 more for him to attack. Kunai in hand, he sliced at the neck, blocked in time by the shinobi. Blocking a punch from the unknown, Sasuke tugged at the Ame nin's whole arm and threw them across the ground, leaving a long skid mark and specs of blood with torn skin. A hidden glare through the illusions goggles didn't reach Sasuke, but instead reached Sakura as she shouted in confusion. "Sasuke-kun, what are you doing!?"

"It's not Naruto! His weapons pouch is on the left left, and Naruto is right handed." Pulling out two more kunai, he launched them toward the Ame nin.

 _Poof_

Using the smoke from dispersing, the nameless genin sprinted to Sakura, meeting Sasuke halfway there. Clashing kunai, the two attempted to power over the others blade as Sakura quickly pulled out her own, aiming for the Ame nin's dominate arm - for him to fly him backwards with chakra induced leap just in time, Sakura's knife instead nicking Sasuke's cheek.

"Hand over your scroll and I won't kill you!" Voice altered by a humidifier, he threw a single kunai between the two Konoha nin that had Sasuke tackling Sakura through bushes as a small explosion blew off behind them.

Huffing, Sasuke picked himself off her and with her fallen knife, met head on with the nearing Ame nin. Blocking once more between them, he threw a hard kick with his left into the others throat, only to be caught and held, giving him a move for the defenseless. Free hand reaching behind him into the pouch on his right leg, another kunai was pulled out and stabbed through the shoulder of the other genin.

Breaking free from each others grip, Sasuke held both knives before him as he steadied his stance. The Ame nin only gripped the excessively bleeding wound and never turned his back toward Sasuke, escaping through the underbrush of trees with curses under his breath about not having his teammates with him.

Easing from his stance but not lowering his guard, Sasuke turned to Sakura, question on the tip of his tongue. "Where is Naruto?"

Receiving an unsure shrug in return, he pocketed one of the knives before turning to search for their teammate in the direction they saw her run off to, needing to use the bathroom earlier.

The Ame genin, not realizing that his teammates had been attacked and mercilessly splattered - landed into the preoccupied meetup place, overlooking the splitting of the river.

A team of three genin stood there, wearing different variants of sadistic and pleased expressions. Widely printed camouflage pants in shades of purples and grey with a matching infinity scarf on each, one male stood hunched over in an enlarged jacket, bandages covering the majority of his face. The other male stood tall, spiky hair showing crazed eyes as a shiny metal contraption wrapped around his wrist was pointed at the Ame genin, the female member admiring senbon in between her fingers.

Each wore a headband on their foreheads, with a single music note carved in deeply.

A ringing entered the remaining Ame genin's ears, and he collapsed onto his knees as his hands lifted from the bleeding wound. "N-No.."

Walking forward with a sway of her hips, the female ran a senbon along the side of his face, a small weeping scratch left behind as her free hand clutched his hair, his body going limp underneath her grip. "I always love it when a boy bows to me," she whispered gleefully, watching his eyes go blank. A disgusted look was sent her way by the male standing tall, him muttering a soft ew.

The whole scene was caught by Tenten, who had hidden herself minutes before at the arrival of the Sound Genin. With a plan of faking a camp with several fish cooking for extra smoke, any team being drawn in and ambushed had to be put on hold as she watched the exchange. A bright green blur appearing beside her against a thick tree root, and could only Tenten nod at Lee and allow him to carry her bridal style, a few fish dangling on different strings from her belt loop.

Blurring out of sight together, only a creak of a weak branch at their combined weight suggested to the Sound Team of their existence.

* * *

"The hell!?" Crying out in surprise, Kiba Inuzaka felt a hand cover his mouth, an echo of his words bouncing off the trees.

Stepping into a thick puddle of something warm that swallowed his whole foot, taking his sandal with it, his teammate Shino had to tug smother his mouth.

After a few moments of pure silence from the trees, Shino removed his hand and crouched before the puddle, carefully digging his fingers into it and tugging out the stolen sandal. Taking a few steps into a light beam peaking through the trees, the sandal was lifted to reveal a thick mixture. Several shades of filthy mud and red created an ugly shade with flashy streaks, and clumps of wet clay held orange rock-like centers.

A glance around the area behind his shades, made Shino pull out a cloth from his own pack and begin wiping off the sandal. "We're in a swamp."

Growling as Kiba hopped around, paranoid of extra puddles, he shook his head at Shino's bland explanation. "I smell blood, like a lot of it." With a sniff in the air, he leaned his body against a moist tree with soaking wet moss, "It smells like it's everywhere."

A strong breeze danced between the leaves above them, the sky finally airing of the cloudy overcast - allowing more light to flicker in the clearing.

Blood was everywhere, covering the surface of everything in the area.

"O-Oh m-m-my," unable to finish her sentence, Hinata covered her watering eyes with shaking fists.

Jerking his body off the tree, Kiba's whole backside was covered in the substance, bare foot covered completely in a mixture of mud and blood. Wrapping his arms around the Hyuuga Heiress, she was lifted off the ground as he hightailed out of the area, Akamaru and Shino following at his heels. Bugs left to survey the area as they regrouped and gathered their wits elsewhere.

After minutes of running, they found the beginning of the river, a mile upstream before it split. Feeling no one around, Kiba jumped into the river with Hinata, clouds and clots of blood washing off with each wave that attacked their clothing. Akamaru, dog-paddling around as the blood came out of his fur, Kiba focused on the crying girl in his arms.

Only blood at the bottom of her sandals, Kiba readjusted his grip to get the rest of his parka somewhat clean, the scroll having been shifted to Shino, who was washing off his hands and the sandal.

"Hinata-chan, it's okay. We're not there anymore," whispering in her ear, her pupil-less eyes opened slowly. Clear tear-drops still escaping randomly, her hands joined together as she barely summoned forth her doujutsu.

"B-By-Byakugan," and veins quickly thickened around her eyes.

Watching the scene between his two teammates, Shino set the sandal down and held out a finger for his bugs to return to him once more. Soft buzzing with twitching from wings that rubbed together, each once took their time in returning to the widened pores among his skin. Reports that wouldn't make sense to anyone else, he patiently waited as Kiba stared down to the flushing heiress.

Returning to shore, Akamaru barked to his owner.

Seeing the two waiting, Hinata's face flushed further at being held. Trudging through the clearing water, Hinata pulled herself onto shore next to Akamaru as Kiba attempted to clean the rest of his body off. "W-What hap-pened t-there, S-Shino-kun?"

"The team from Suna." Answering plainly, he waited for Kiba's splashing fit of irritation at bloody moss to finish before continuing. "The red-head member slaughtered a family of tigers with sand."

"A f-family of t-ti-tigers?" The veins around Hinata's eyes lessened, softening in sadness at the news. "H-How c-c-could anyo-one d-do s-somet-thing l-like t-th-that?"

A heavy silence sat on their shoulders, as the situation that sat right outside of Hinata's range was completely missed.

Team 10 was hiding behind and in bushes, Ino in the middle with Choji and Shikamaru flanked at her sides. Whispering furiously, only three meters away was Neji Hyuuga gathering firewood. Ideas were thrown back and forth on if he'd have his team's scroll and how they could properly take it - Ino ignored her strategist teammate and jumped out of the bushes, hair coming undone in one extravagant wave.

"Oh hi there, Neji-sama!" Seeing his emotionless eyes turn to him, she blew a kiss. "Would you like to strike a deal, your scroll for a _night_ with _me_?"

Eyes not moving even the slightest at her offer, he simply turned and began walking away, offhandedly responding. "It's really unbecoming of a heiress to offer herself like a common whore."

Snarling inhumanly, her arms were gripped tightly by Choji and Shikamaru as their heels dug deeply into the ground, being dragged forward at the surprising strength of a furious woman. "I wasn't asking to sleep with you, I meant a date, a _date_! You boring, blind - nmphua!" Hand slapped over her mouth, she bit down harshly and wiped the extra slobber on her shoulder, her yells reaching into screeches. "Nothing is wrong with exploring anyways! What happened to taking risks, huh!? We could all die here, you-you damn prude!" She screeched loudly at the leaving Hyuuga.

Upward north, hanging upside down in a tree by a rope around her ankles, Naruto froze at the disorientated screeching. Her own chakra containing seal used against her, she was unable to fall apart into paper and escape the rope that was also tied around her wrists, palms outward and a thick piece tied around her head and tucked in between her lips as a gag.

Having sensed the chakra too late, her hands were fighting to battle with her shorts for her to truly give him her focus, ending in her wrists tied and strung up.

Being tied upside down for the past 30, almost 40 minutes, Naruto finally accepted the path of just going as she was, so with a wiggle in her legs of dreading preparation, she froze once more at rustling bushes and the soft whistling of a knife being thrown.

Cutting the rope that held her suspended in the air, Naruto shifted her body to land on her arms and back - the air knocked out of her lungs with a splitting pain in her left wrist.

Eyes squeezed shit in the surprising pain, she felt the rope binding her legs be sliced as she was forced to sit on her behind, hands untied gently with a grunt of surprise from what Naruto could recognized as Sasuke. The pain fading with a twitch in her wrist made Naruto realize that it was broken on her fall, now healing with her famed curse and blood as her teammate watched. Lungs being filled properly, she took a deep breath around the rope-gag as Sasuke cautiously poked at her wrist, a moment of silence from him as Naruto groaned with her fingers flexing, the blood pumping through freely again.

Slicing carefully at the back of the gag, Sasuke remained in his position of being crouched as Naruto shot up onto her feet, running behind the trunk of the tree she was just hung on top of, and ripped her shorts down to gather at her knees and with an obnoxiously loud and long stream of urine, she groaned in bliss as the aching of her bladder disappeared.

"Naru?" Sasuke called out, voice low to not echo throughout the clearing toward the pink-haired teammate, standing high and hidden nearby on watch.

With the flow slowly easing after another small while, Naruto finally realized what Sasuke called her. "Did you just call me Naru?" Disbelief and surprise obvious in her tone of voice, she pulled her two layers of underwear and shorts up into place.

"Naruto is a boys name." The flat response that acted as though it explained everything, had the carrot top squint in confusion as she came out of the privacy behind the tree.

"Yeah, but it was the name I was given at birth by my parents." Brow twisted, she stared in suspicious curiosity at the change from dead last to a nickname, and wondered on if he just assumed that it was what she would prefer from those who knew her gender. Shrugging it off, she searched the area. "Where's Sakura-chan? Nothing happened to her from that asshole, right?"

Ripping off the seal on her arm, she stuffed it into her pocket as Sasuke imitated a birds call, and rustling leaves announced Sakura's own arrival, smiling to the last Uchiha and nodding at Naruto.

"We need to create a password," Sasuke scowled from his spot, Naruto and Sakura joining him on the ground with sounds of agreement. "It has to be something we'll all remember. Any suggestions?"

A minute of silence hung between them, before Naruto snapped her fingers. "How 'bout that one rhyme when we were kids, after Iruka-sensei caught a lot of us fighting in the playground?" Humming along the words without forming them, Naruto's senses picked up on a nearing chakra source.

* * *

The fight that Naruto was talking about, had all of the current Rookie 9 and family thrown into a pit of brawling when they were just 6 years old. Starting with Naruto yelling in Sasuke's face, the official declaration of them being rivals as Kiba mocked it - saying something along the lines of needing to be equals to be rivals - Itachi Uchiha himself tried to direct Kiba elsewhere as he pulled apart the increasingly violent Sasuke, who was kicking at the air near Naruto's legs. An insult from Sasuke to Kiba, had ended the laughter as he ran head first into Sasuke's stomach, causing the youngest Uchiha there to punch him in the face, Kiba's older sister Hana being summoned at the cry of pain.

Yelling right into the face of Itachi Uchiha, consequences be damned, the three were left to push each other around, Kiba being pushed too hard into Ino talking to Sakura. Not given an apology of any sort and the center of her affections being hurt, Ino attempted to force one out of Kiba and prevent Naruto from hurting her crush any further, Sakura joining in when she saw Naruto out-right tackling the youngest Uchiha, Inoichi Yamanka arriving with Choza Akimichi and Shikaku Nara, their sons explaining the situation from what they caught of it. Choza attempting to calm the children as Shikamaru and Choji watched up close as though they were front seat in an action movie, Inoichi and Shikaku prevented Hana from attacking a higher ranking shinobi - only to be caught pushing Itachi back by the arriving Fugaku Uchiha with Hiashi Hyuuga.

Despite the Hyuuga's and Uchiha's own rivalries, they were both high standing clans and would protect the image of said high standing being equally powerful.

Elbowed in the face by Ino, Choji's last chip from his bag was dropped into the sand, and not even Choza and Shikamaru could contain him from joining in, Shikamaru following in by his friends side out of loyalty.

Naruto rolling around in the dirt with Sasuke as Kiba pulled at their hair and clothes, Akamaru was barking on the sidelines as Ino sneaked in kicks to his back as Choji literally threw her around, Shikamaru was unwillingly catching Ino as Sakura kept trying to pull Sasuke and Naruto off each other, slapping the dodging Shikamaru. Rolling around and shifting from their spot, they neared the bug-watching Shino, Hinata silently sitting beside him.

Sakura stepped on the bug, and with a screech she tripped over the pile of Shikamaru and Ino - the bugs Shino sent out got Ino instead. Turning her attention from Kiba, Choji seemed to agree in the change as he threw her onto the Abruame heir and Hyuuga heiress.

Hiashi, seeing the action of a child being thrown on top of his daughter, sent a glare to the freezing Choza.

With a purely accidental tumble backwards into the arriving civilian, who was curious of what the commotion was about, let loose another screech as Sakura's mother sent out her own kick, landing on Hana's right leg and heel hitting the brooding Shibi Abruame.

The Third Hokage and Iruka were not pleased, having sat down to discuss the lovable container only to be interrupted by what Shikamaru would later groan to be a troublesome accident as Naruto would bounce and call it an amazing fight club over his complaint.

Punishment being everyone and their involved family to sit in the classroom after school hours, writing a hundred lines of 'I will not start or join a fight club,' when everyone had finished, adults and children were forced to shake hands - Naruto going the extra effort to force Sasuke into a hug in which she happily whispered a threat to beat him into the ground later.

 _"Flowers will die, the sun will set, but you're a friend I won't forget. Your name is so precious, it will never grow old. It's engraved in my heart, in letters of gold,"_ the future last Uchiha and paper kunoichi were forced to repeat a few times before the classroom door was opened and they were free to go.

* * *

In the saddening future, Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes lit with recognition, nodding in acceptance of it being their password. Rising from their spots, Sakura asked the next question, turning to Sasuke. "What's the plan for the other scroll now?"

There was no true answer, as a horizontal vortex of wind ripped its way through the trees, branches and bushes being yanked off the ground. Covering their eyes, Naruto was lifted off the ground as a large branch hit her in the stomach.

Her cry of surprise was the last thing Sasuke and Sakura heard or saw of her as she disappeared once more - this time unwillingly.

Unfortunately, Naruto was blown a full two miles across the thick forest, multiple tree trunks being the only objects slowing her down against the powerful vortex before the jutsu was released. Having the air knocked out of her lungs once more, Naruto slammed into an especially thick trunk, before sliding down and landing on the left side of her body.

Taking several deep breaths to force air in once more, she laid there until the familiar pain of bruises being pressed roughly disappeared. Using the tree trunk to pull herself back up onto her feet, the feeling of hungry eyes on her prickled at her skin.

Chin lifted as an unnatural darkness covered her body, a _'fuck'_ barely escaped her lips as she was swallowed by an enormous snake, who in its own pleasure at feeding, slithered off on its merry way.

Wiggling and kicks for space to climb along bumpy innards, shouts of disgust turned into shouts of irritation and finally, "Kage no Bunshin!" with the snake being blown into small bits that coated the area, before a thin smoke screen covered the groaning clones that wiped away at slime and chunks - all but one disappearing as their smoke combined with the snakes.

Hair and eyes freed from hat and goggles, Naruto attempted to clean them quickly with a giant leaf.

"How disgusting."

Ears twitching, Naruto quickly formed and shot a kunai off to where she thought she heard the unwelcomed voice.

Muscles tense with her changes exposed, the smoke finally faded, revealing an empty clearing with no sound. Animals and insects scared away at the large presence that made up the snake earlier, the echoing snap of scales and wet skin forbidding the surrounding area from creatures controlled by instincts. The familiar slits of paper made their way along her limbs, that when a rustling of leaves reached her ears - her body rotated and more kunai shot out from her hands.

Not catching the stranger with her kunai or sight, Naruto's chakra hesitantly reached out around her.

 _'No one is there?'_

Arms lowering in defeat and confusion, her eyes continued to search the empty spaces in between trees and bushes, worry and paranoia for her teams safety eating at her edges.

"He was once blind as well."

Eyes widening at the wistful voice, she twisted her body around and caught sight of the speaker.

Scratching at her head, Naruto finally fell onto her back and covered her eyes.

"I've lost it. I'm imagining a talking crow."

An insulted glance was thrown, only to be followed by continuous mutterings of losing too much oxygen that didn't reach her brain. The crow, large for its species with sleek feathers that shined in the natural light, had a dark curving beak that ended in a fine point. Beady eyes glinting with a suggestion about years of heavy weight and a firm intelligence, there was still an aged wariness that has been honed by instinct. Waiting patiently, the crow only blinked at the girl as a finger wiggled, her left eye peaking through to observe.

"You're the crow from Wave?" Suspicion and unease flooding her voice, he shifted in his place.

"Yes. Thank you for saving me."

Dropping her hands into her lap, Naruto sat back up. "Did ya follow me all the way here then, or something?"

"It _has_ been a while since I have seen an Uzumaki." Spoken softly, the crow looked over the small girl once more. "I am Shisen. I was one of the many contracts your family has held."

"Many contracts?" Head cocked back, the carrot top's mind bounced from bedtime stories to the gifted history books, and could only recall individuals with specific contracts, some naturally being passed down with positions or small intermediate families, others being just chosen out of chance.

 _"I had received a crow with the Uzukage's message, explaining that Kumo had attacked, and a majority of the population were gone by the time it was written."_

"You were the last Uzukage's summon?" Seeing a small nod, the worry for her team began eating at her center, a small shaking entering her hands. "Do you think we can talk some other time? I'm in the middle of an exam and my teammates really need me - unless that wind was you?"

Seeing only a bland look at the question of the wind as she stood onto her feet, he flew onto her shoulder, eyes glinting a crimson shade. "We will discuss everything later. However, until then, I will be accompanying you."

Not objecting to the summon, Naruto was sure that even if she did, he'd continue to follow anyways. _'Is it just me, or is everything happening during these exams?'_ Pushing off on her feet, her breath quickened under intrusive thoughts and scenarios over what could go wrong.

Sasuke and Sakura though, currently were hiding in a thick bundle of branches. Clothes and hair matted to their skin with sweat and blood from their own matching wounds on their left upper thighs.

After the horizontal vortex ended, the all female Kusa team walked among the path of destruction, two members blurring from view as they stood guard in the trees. The third, stared down the remaining members of Team 7, a thick bloodlust pinning the two in their places with eyes peeled open in terror. Circling them once slowly, she revealed an Earth Scroll.

"If you win, you can have my scroll. If you lose?" A long tongue had wrapped around it, and her jaw unhooked enough for it to be swallowed down her throat. "You die."

Silence was her only answer, as the two fell to their knees, picking up dirt along the skidding of their knees. Mouth and eyes pealed open with aches from the uncomfortable position, Sakura couldn't or swallow blink at all. Before her, she saw her death on repeat. A lazily thrown kunai toward her crush, blood splattering all across her face like she was _the animals Naruto killed_ , and then another lazy kunai landing in her forehead - the blood covering her eyes before her life blurred away with a pained grimace.

Over and over, Sasuke saw his death as well. The kunai being lazily thrown, him laying on the ground as dead faces blurred into view, all frowning because he couldn't achieve one justifiable action. The casual smile of a woman high above him, tip toeing forward in curiosity after his teammate falls forward dead, immediately from the knife in her forehead. Her turning his body over, pricking open his eyes as the light faded.

 _'No.'_ Any attempt to swallow the drying spit in his mouth failed, with his mind screaming at his limbs - getting louder and being ignored. ' _I don't want to die, I don't want to die here. Move, I need to move!_ '

"You cannot even move, can you? Very pathetic for the future of this tree-hugging village."

The kunai that will take Sasuke's life was pulled out of her pouch and spun around her pointer finger. Brown eyes that could hold warmth and love only gleamed with an excited glee, as her eyes stared into the last Uchiha's.

He knew it was going to take his life if he didn't move, but the fear held him steady. The fear held him still and with a ragged breath forced from his lungs, the kunai came forward.

Using his own to stab himself, the woman's was picked from the air and forced down into Sakura's own leg.

Flinging both back to the woman, adrenaline began pumping through his veins and he followed the two knives, them being dodged with a simple turn of her body, only to be met by another knife in the raven's hand. Blocking with the kunai drawn right through her hand, he froze at the bold method and she sent a kick into his stomach, sending his body flying at the pure force behind it.

Sakura ran to catch him, a wide set of shuriken sent to the Kusa Kunoichi as a poor distraction, the bloodied knife left to dry on the ground.

Comforted that neither of them had the scroll, terror still wrecked through her veins as she attempted to run. Held clumsily as he caught his breath, he was immediately dropped with a screech from the girl and before he knew what was happening, Sasuke had shoved a knife through a snakes open mouth.

Reaching to grab his teammate, she jerked herself out of his grip and stuttered. "Y-Your eyes! W-What's wrong with t-them!?"

Feeling a breeze of air pass through his clothes, Sasuke felt as though time slowed when he reached into his pouch for ninja wire. The hand that tried to claw at the back of his neck was tightly caught instead with the wire as circulation in the limb was cut off, and with a kick off the thick branch they stood on, he stuffed the end of the unwrapping wire into his mouth as the woman fell, and flew by with the handsigns for his families signature jutsu.

"Fire style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Spitting out the immediate ash the wire turned to, he allowed the fireball roll to the ground and along the string before picking up his teammate by the waist and running away as fast as he could. Finding a thick branch that sprouted with leaves everywhere for cover, he released her and looked into the reflection of a shiny kunai.

"The Sharingan," Sasuke muttered. Turning to see the almost terror sketched across his pink-haired teammate, his brow furrowed as he caught his breath. "What?"

"That's the.. Sharingan?" Her own green eyes twitched as she glanced back and forth into his red orbs,

"Yes. This is my family's doujutsu."

"I thought you, you had to do something to activate it? L-Like the Hyuuga's.." Eyes overlooking her with disbelief, it took a him moment of remembering her civilian background and that the teachers had to gain approval from the clans every time to share information to a class made up of children with changing minds.

"We only need to send chakra to our eyes. The Hyuuga's use the handsigns to focus, since their fighting style relies on precision." Her eyes widened as they lost focus, Sakura's lips moving to quote something Sasuke couldn't read, unknowing that she was repeating a line from her favorite biology book.

 _Species will evolve accordingly to their surroundings, specific DNA spreading with breeding._

"T-That's why.." Not saying it out loud to insult her teammate, Sakura ignored the odd look sent her way as she felt a part of her break. _'That's why families are being killed off, when they don't share their powers..'_

"Hey guys!" Landing ungracefully on the branch across from them, Sakura and Sasuke both held kunais to their chests as they glared cautiously at Naruto. "What's that about?" Pointing to the kunai, her head tilted as Sasuke really did throw his kunai, ripping a chunk out of the hat.

"What's the password, Naruto?" Sakura's voice hardened, as Naruto bounced from one foot to the other in disbelief and surprise at having a kunai thrown so close to her.

"The hell, teme!" Ripping off the hat to check out the damage, revealing a full head of blonde hair - Sasuke tugged Sakura off her knees and scowled at the henged shinobi.

"Naruto doesn't have blonde hair!" Flicking an exploding tag toward her, confused stares followed him as he jumped to another branch with Sakura dragged along.

Pushing his teammate against the trunk of the tree, his spinning eyes was able to meet with the henged Naruto twirling a long tongue, lapping at the pale lips as she sauntered forward almost seductively. "Since when did the Namikaze brat not have blonde hair?"

Two expressions screwed up in doubt and uncertainty as the henged Naruto's jaw dropped open in amusement.

"This village really is going to hell! Their so-called best secret, blanketed by lies from those in charge has fooled everyone, even their own villagers!" The laughter following made Sasuke viably cringe, his teammates scratchy humble voice being forced several pitches higher, filled with satisfaction and overbearing arrogance - it slowly seeping into a mix of the croaky female Rain nin's tone and something much deeper and smoother. "I suppose that is also part of their S-class secret isn't it?"

Henge released to reveal the Rain nin once more, a right hand was raised with elegance and a flair of dramatic to cover the right side of her face, only for her fingers to curl into the base of her scalp, the sound of ripping skin echoing in the silence. Revealing a slitted and almost glowing yellow eye that twinkled with sickened pleasure at the loss and fear that emitted from the two before him, an almost pleasant smile graced his lips at Sakura's question.

"Just who are you anyways!?"

Head tilting with two obnoxious cracks from the spinal cord following, the flayed skin was left to continue its degrading descent down their body, an exaggerated pleasured sigh passed through. "I am Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin."

Adam's apple bobbing at his throat, a cautious step back from Sasuke had a smirk flying onto Orochimaru's pale face as his neck expanded upward.

Flying through the trees fast enough for the leaves to notify the three too late, Naruto's left foot quickly went exactly into the center of the Snake Sannin's lengthened neck. "You creepy fuck!"

Landing on guard before her team, she grinned foxily to her teammates as an irritated groan escaped the bruised throat of Orochimaru. A flick in her wrist summoned the Uzumaki Parasol as he began running to her, his hand reaching for her shoulder before she disaparated into the familiar blank sheets of paper, capturing the sannin as it began swirl around him.

"Paper trail: Carousal!"

Slicing at the outer layer of skin, Orochimaru only stared into Sasuke's eyes as the paper wall between them solidified.

Without a word, snakes crawled out of his sleeves and tore a hole into the wall, a well aimed kick landing into the last Uchiha's stomach, only for the Uzumaki to form and drop onto his back, arms pulling at his neck to flip him backward.

Batting a pestering snake away, Naruto wrapped an arm around Sasuke's shoulders to keep his steady.

"And the Namikaze brat graces us with his presence." Waving with a torn and bloodied arm to her, Orochimaru's exposed eyes squinted slightly as he took in the design of her parasol. "Ah, so they're _both_ your parents." Seeing her mouth open with an angry frown across her lips, he continued talking. "I should've killed them when I left this village. Or, taken one of their bodies."

"..What?" Asking for her, the Uchiha's eyes faded back into black for a moment. Dancing with wariness between his teammate and the rogue Sannin, he knew that Orochimaru was being pressed with multiple charges that made him a traitor to Konoha, the biggest one of being caught experimenting on orphans. _'The Yondaime Hokage was an orphan and said to not have any children, but who was her mother?'_

Not seeing any emotion besides an angry frown on her face, Orochimaru smiled wickedly at the opportunity of revenge.

"Oh yes, your parents. I remember them so well. Your mother, the whore with the need of justice at any extent and your father, the supposed genius with a hidden love for anything with a large bust." Almost tsking as he posed on the branch, he stared into the depths of her goggles. "Extended lifespans couldn't save them from the monster that makes you."

An echoing scoff had him pause, looking from the corner of his eyes searching.

"Those who live in jealousy and envy live their lives searching for approval of those who do not matter."

Properly turning his head to only see nothing but the bareness of trees, the sound of fluttering wings reached his ears as a small crow sat on the shoulder of Naruto.

"You will point out the apparent flaws of those who have threatened your own abilities, because you cannot simply live with the idea of being anything else than the best, when you are only the worse."

Feathers ruffling as Naruto released her teammate's shoulder, she stood tall before the snake as she forced herself to calm down at his attempts to rile her up.

A snarl grew on his face, a look of annoyance flashing as he shot forward, Shisen's beak opening for screeching wind to send him flying backward. Sending a brief nod to Sasuke, the two heirs ran forward together, kunai and parasol held at the ready.

Meeting with Orochimaru, Naruto aimed her makeshift bat to his face as Sasuke dodged the punch aimed for his face and attempted to stab him in the stomach. Being flung by her parasol and only catching the wrist before the kunai reached home, it was cleanly snapped as Shisen flapped his wings forward, a sudden nauseating and headspinning feeling being blasted onto the sannin through genjutsu as his neck expanded forward once more.

Simply twisting his body into the air as he was held in place, Sasuke kicked into his ribs as the sannin's teeth sunk into his neck.

"Sasuke!" Freezing in her spot, Naruto could only recall the memory of her mother and father being debriefed by the Sandaime Hokage that the young Uzumaki refugees sent to Konoha for safety were finally found, dead in a laboratory with machines hooked up to their bodies and altered DNA, the memory she hoped was just an accidental nightmare. "Sasuke isn't some experiment for you play with, you _bastard_!"

Shisen's wings opened as his feathers sharpened, a dazed look constantly entering and passing in Orochimaru's yellow eyes, only for him to rip apart from the Uchiha, throwing him casually onto another branch as he sent a kunai to the crow, Shisen dodging and attempting to hit him with shooting feathers.

"Sasuke-kun, even when your teammate walked around with a matching appearance to your history books and great monument, you didn't even know of your teammates lineage when he clearly does. Just imagine what else is being hidden from you?" Calling down to the trembling genin as Sakura held him close to her, wiping away the gathering sweat. "When you're ready for the answers and power being withheld from you, seek me out. I have no qualms giving you it all."

Making one last leap at the distracted sannin, Naruto was pinned against the trunk in seconds. "Sasuke-kun isn't some experiment but however, _you_ are."

Teeth sunk into her neck as well, mixed eyes behind her goggles widening at the pain.

Spots entering her vision, they were quickly filled with flickering colours and images as the seal on the back of her neck was forced into coming alive, conflicting with the one Orochimaru was marking on her neck. Thoughts raced as her mouth opened in a silent scream, Shisen closing his tired beady eyes.

Released to fall on her knees, Naruto's eyes immediately closed as Orochimaru blurred out of existence with a final smirk to the Crow. Sakura, partially carrying the last Uchiha onto the same branch as Naruto, began trembling as Sasuke could only watch through faltering sight while the teeth marks on his teammates healed instantly with a matching 3 tomoe seal burned a deep red.

Going limp against the shaking grip of Sakura, her own eyes burned with hot tears. Shisen, hopping slowly forward to sit besides the Uzumaki's head, sighed almost mournfully as Sakura flinched.

"I was suppose to prevent this."

* * *

 _"You'we 'upposed to be upset when the sky is cwying, 'Shina-chan."_

 _Ignoring the head of spiky red hair that attempted to draw my attention, I continued pouting as I stared up into the sky._

 _Clouds. Fluffy white clouds filled the blue outer world, lowering my mood even further._

 _It was technically winter, but Uzushi was south enough that there were few days of actual snow, those days meant for randomly placed vacation. I was hoping for today to be one of them, but Kami had ignored me and Shinigami wanted to torture me. Sighing dramatically, my head tilted onto Shin Uzumaki's shoulder. "Why does life enjoy seeing me suffer?"_

 _Hearing a snort from a few other kids that were close enough to hear, Shin's toothy grin entered my vision as we watched sensei arrive with his expecting wife._

 _Today, we were having class outside. In my classes popular clearing, with a proper halo of light in the center and specs passing through thin leaves, me and my best friend Shin were partnered to share a text book in several of our lessons, crowding under a tree we dubbed as ours._ _Arms overflowing with flowers we've picked along the way, a bundle was held in my hands as Shin pretended to mourn me at my small funeral with fake cries and begs for resurrection._

 _Giggling as a throat cleared, we turned our eyes to our red-headed sensei and his expecting Namikaze wife._

 _"Hello class! Today, my beautiful wife here, Madame Shiroi is going to go over the history of the Old World, her being a specialist in identifying the cultures that belonged to the different types of people that use to inhabit Earth - yes, Tomi?"_

 _"By cultures, do you mean before the Great War?"_

 _A sweet smile from the pregnant woman was sent to Tomi, her blonde hair cascading down her back. "Yes, and after. Before we truly begin though, can someone explain what all do you know so far?"_

 _Shooting his hand up high, Shin's hand was among many and with a little giggle, he was called on with a nod._

 _"We know dat there were sevwal systems of gove'ment in up ta almost two hund'ed countwies and ten billion people in the world, da 'esources were consumed too fast, an' it riled up the diffewences in views 'bout life, death, an' nation contwol, it endin' ina nuclea war ruining the world. Evwyone lived in da ruins, befowe people began -"_

 _Blushing at his loud voice, my sticky and slightly sweaty hand found his as Madame Shiroi praised him in answering._

* * *

 _"Liar liar! Why on earth, won't you tell the truth?"_

 _Flick_

 _"Cause the world might do me in, it's alright 'cause I'm with friends!"_

 _Flick_

 _"I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind. I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time. I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon, and I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah."_

 _Pausing on flickering with the nubs on the old fashioned radio, grime and dust covering it, I grinned up to Shin, who was blushing. "You're startin' to make me feel like it was fate or something to find this with the songs on it."_ _A roll of his eyes and with his speech impediment that was slowly being worked through, he relaxed on top of the rock next to me with a long curse word released. Shaking his head, he smiled at his feet, avoiding my eyes as water from the ocean gently tickling our ankles. "Seriously though Shin, you didn't have to bring me anything from Mainland, but thank you."_

 _Softly kissing his cheek, his finger tips lit up with electricity._

* * *

 _It took awhile, but the old projector finally began to sputter to life. Rolling a darkened image onto the sheet we set up in my living room, I went flying next to him on the floor, my mother giggling behind her hand on the couch as I leaned against her calves. Having gone digging into the pile of technology that was said to not work anymore, Shin had made it his personal mission to get a working projector that wouldn't be used for school or the big theater._

 _"It'll be our own, like those old fashion movie drive-ins!"_

 _When we were given projects of writing reports or creating boards about pieces in the Old World to learn from, Shin and I had done a mix of how technology had effected the courtship of two in a relationship. Long distance conversations, dining in different establishments, traveling, taking photographs, all that almost seemed to be a weird requirement for two people in love. It would help though, in exposing those cheaters and liars by the fast way of connecting._

 _Shin loved the Old World._

* * *

 _Digging my fingers into the wet sand, I allowed it to seep between my fingers. Legs stretched out and spread to play with the hole I was mindlessly digging, I smiled at the wiggling redhead in my mother's hands. Behind her, I could see the towering castle that held the Main Family. Made up of the shades that created the sky and ocean on the best days, I knew it was very open and comforting from attending the festivals and parties held by them, sometimes being taken on a tour with dad as he was a guard._

 _Sighing into the air, the sky today was once more full of clouds, the sun shining through them despite it setting. Blurs of orange, pink, purple and blue made up the world above us and no matter how much I tried to fill my hands with it, I could only hold the forever blue that laid below the beautiful sky. Twinkling stars slowly began clear to my wide eyes, and with a little jump from surprise - large burly arms pulled me off the ground._

 _"Tou-san!"_

* * *

 _Stuffing my face full of ramen, I could feel my father snorting at the determined look on my face._

 _"Kushina-chan, you know you can still eat slowly and read what you missed in class?"_

 _Pausing in my suctioning, I pouted lightly as I wiped at my chin with my sleeve. "Fineee." Only a sniffle here and there remained in my nose from being sick for a whole week, Shin was coming over everyday to drop off extra work sheets and small tapes to repeat the lessons._

 _I was filled with sadness when history class finally began going over the more recent history, about how the world was finally shaped to be more orderly by the samurai's and missionaries from the other continent, though still being in constant battle about food and land and dubbed as the Warring Clans Era, I was still caught up with Shin's and Tou-san's help._

 _So with a grin to my burly father, I face planted into my bowl._

* * *

 _Pictures were the only thing left._

 _Of Tou-san, Kaa-chan, and Shin._

 _Of my classmates and teachers, going on field trips across the island._

 _Of visiting the Castle when the festivals were in full swing, the Main Family throwing out whatever manners forced onto them from visiting delegates, causing unplanned eating contests and brawls._

 _Of my home._

 _Sitting next to Minato Namikaze, the unlucky yet lucky orphan, who unluckily lost his parents before knowing them and luckily wasn't found by his clan to be killed by Kumo, tears sat in the corner of both our eyes._

 _Gingerly turning the pages of my journal, it sat on the bed before us. Knees touching with our legs crossed, my journal was a binder with rings to add more paper to over time. Filling it over the years, with pictures and paragraphs that mentioned when, where, or who was in a picture, there were a few notes and ripped pages from my absolute favorite classes, some have been doodled on by Shin with invention ideas._

 _Not saying a thing, Minato would clench and unclench his fists as he stared into the pictures, filled with red and blonde heads of all types._

 _Reading the notes from classes that Konoha didn't have, quiet questions were asked._

 _"What was it like?" He finally asked, closing it with care._

 _Staring up into my ceiling, I scooted the book over and stretched my legs._

 _"Loud, colourful, and warm."_

 _"Warm, how?"_

 _Staring into his blue eyes, I could feel a bout of what I discovered to be called survivors guilt blooming._

 _"It could be snowing outside, but there was still warmth under your skin."_

 _Watching him bring his knees up to rest his cheek against, his eyes revealed that he was searching his memories for the feeling._

 _"I feel that sometimes, when I'm watching families eat out." Staring back into mine, I had to swallow down the cries of being sorry as he blinked slowly. "It's not fair, that people did that."_

 _"Yeah. It isn't really, dattebane."_

* * *

Appearing in a familiar place, my eyes blinked as I became use to the darkness.

The hallway, once covered in soft moss that circled and draped over the light blue pipes with enough water to reach my ankles, was now dead and scorched in the overflowing water reaching to my knees. All were pipes rusted instead of the just the red, the light blue pipes were creaking weakly under the weight of something sickly purple mixed in them as the red pipes _ate_ all of it away quickly, the red pipes slowly overcoming the blues with time. The few bunches that once created a deep dark purple were gone, and unease ate at my tummy.

The long hallway that was once sort of lit naturally, was now glowing in between a menacing red and disgusting purple, the purple both hurting my eyes and making my stomach sick.

Waddling through the overflowing water, my eyes squinted nearly shut, it felt like forever before I made it to Kyuubi's cage.

Red smoke and fog filled the room, but the glowing eyes of Kyuubi remained above it all, his-hers-whatever eyes staring down at something before it.

"What's going on!?" I shouted, the water rippling uncontrollably, forcing splashes to hit my chest - an awful taste covering my lips at the worse.

Through the red smoke, I could make out the now familiar sickly purple forming a similar figure to the Snake Bastard, it being suppressed and shrunken with each ripple. Hearing my question though, Kyuubi turned his attention to me, along with the purple figure.

 _Monster._

 _Your parents didn't love you._

 _You'll never be able to do anything right._

 _Nobody will ever respect you,_

 _anybody who loves you just wants to get in your pants._

 _You'd probably fuck anything that gives you attention, wouldn't you?_

 _Sasuke acknowledged you as his rival and you pinned him to a bed and almost fucked him,_

 _in someone elses house._

 _Kakashi has helped you in training as best as he could and you've just daydreamed of fucking him anywhere you could._

 _You're suppose to be his little sister, so how long before you try and bang your actual brother figure,_ _Iruka?_

 _Freak._

My own voice yet not echoed through my ears, my mouth not forming the words.

Falling to my knees, the water made it to my chin, the splashes sometimes forcing my whole head underwater.

 _Your mother only gave you her memories to show you what you took away from her._

 _And you'll take the remaining clan and ruin them,_

 _pissing and fucking on everything they ever stood for - because you can't help yourself._

 _How can you lead a clan to their homeland if you can't even get the local villagers to respect you?_

 _You're watching your body fall apart,_

 _because you aren't strong enough to hold the Kyuubi._

 _You were too weak to fight it off,_

 _and now you're dying._

 _Too weak to save your teammate,_

 _too weak to save yourself._

Silence suddenly was the only thing left, the purple figure gone with a skid mark in its place, the water draining to its old place as the red fog thickened.

Surrounded by it all, it felt suffocating as I was left, striped of everything I've been working for.

Ignoring the problems and doubts I had for myself, cutting myself off before I could even form the sentences for them to float along my head and bring me down, I thought I could just simply overcome my problems by proving them wrong. By being strong and doing whatever I could, I froze at the worse of times. By being myself and not the labelled Kyuubi incarnate, I'd be recognized as any other person with a love of being a little shit sometimes. That by being emotional, you can still be passionate and connect to everyone, it delivering you to the right option when things went wrong. But I failed.

I had memories of my mother, a woman chasing after justice in the world and holding knowledge of things I wasn't even alive for, giving me visuals and explanations for places I've never been to, telling me stories of people I've never met before. I should be superior in this then, knowing all that. I should've known better, that the second a snake just happened to eat me after being blown away from my team, that I was going to lose no matter what. I knew who Orochimaru was, details of things he's done, even knew what he looked like before he went rogue.

But I still wasn't prepared despite the _upperhand_ I was given, and I lost.

I don't want to lose anything, because then I'll lose everything someday when it's my life lost.

I just shouldn't have been so weak.

 **"Uzumaki."**

* * *

 **Outside of Naruto's** **Conscious**

After Sakura had found a thick tree, its trunk and roots forming a peculiar opening, she tucked her teammates as deep as she could into it, the shadows of the tree hiding them while Shisen mysteriously disappeared. Water from her canteen was used on the emergency wash clothes she brought and placed onto their foreheads, vicious fevers breaking out as they twisted and jerked with violent twitches and cries. On both of their necks, three tomoe'd tattoos that matched history book pictures of a full Sharingan glowed as though they were on fire, though Sakura couldn't resist but confirming Sasuke's claim on Naruto's hair.

Pulling off the hat and running her fingers through the lacking spikes, peaks to two more glowing seals were caught.

The average storage seals along her arms were plain, blank and unchanging on her tanned skin, but there was a soft glow peaking from underneath Naruto's sweater and on the bag turned pillow. Cold fingers curiously traced the normally tatted Remember and a blushing face quickly observed the glowing one on Naruto's stomach, giving the scholar-like girl no answers to what was truly done to them.

The clearing laid out before the peculiar tree was messily trapped to the watching team of Sound, them impatiently waiting with orders to kill two of the 'male' members of Team 7. Waiting to just wait as time passed even further, Sakura's late night studying finally losing its power as daylight returned, until she was slipping in and out of sleep.

When Team Sound finally struck, Team 10 was hopping by with both scrolls.

Coming to her battle cries and yelling of jutsu's, Ino threw herself in as Sakura held the knife to her own hair, Shikamaru and Choji following her out of worry at the dangerous unknown. Battered and bruises, unconscious fast approaching, another battle cry filled the area.

His entry diminished after a rejection of love from Sakura, the awake members nearby learned that his name was Rock Lee, student under the taijutsu master, Might Gai. Speed was his favorite trump card was used against the Sound, but sound waves he would learn, were much faster. Blood poured out of his ears, eyes losing focusing until an almost blessing awoken from his forced sleep.

Pitch black flames along his skin expanded, starting from the tomoe'd seal on his skin. A single tomoe spun in his reddened eyes and the only smile the Konoha nin see Sasuke wear in years was filled with anger and bloodlust, his fingers flexing as his arms stretched outward at the thrill of his new power, the clearing was quickly forced into silence as the only sound from the attacking team was two arms being pulled from their sockets.

"S-Sasuke, stop.." Crawling into the light with her hat twisted out of place, Naruto's eyes burned red behind her goggles. Fingers digging into the dying grass, her knees shook before she collapsed once more onto her stomach. "D-Done enough.. to save, us.."

Head forcefully turned to the side, tears leaked out into her goggles at the easing pain in her body, words that came from her yet not repeating over and over in her ears.

Releasing the arms, Sasuke kicked the Sound nin to the ground before walking pass everyone to Naruto, the false flames reverted back into their place onto his neck and he gently dragged her back into the shadows of the tree.

The Earth Scroll was tossed to Sakura before the Sound Team ran away, and though Sasuke was only hidden by shadows and not gone, Team 8 shook out of their horror and eased Sakura out of her almost shock, thanking Lee numbly as Tenten arrived and disappeared with him. Shikamaru though, was admittedly afraid to leave Sakura to her teammates. The life of shinobi not meant to terrify one of their very own, and allowed Ino to take a kunai to the choppily sliced hair to waste time for Team 7's recovery, plans to travel with them to the tower.

In the shadows of the tree, Naruto knocked off her goggles and tightly held Sasuke close to her. Small whimpers of what she saw to the confused Sasuke, she finally took note of his expression and answered his quiet question. "The seal that fucking bastard gave us, it's _.. inhuman._ I don't know what you saw or heard or even felt, but you shouldn't - you shouldn't fucking use it!" Holding him still as he tried to jerk away, the explanation of what he truly felt on the tip of his tongue, was interrupted before he even started. "Seals aren't meant to _talk_ to me as me, and seals from that S-Class _missing_ nin are never going to be good! I-I woke up just after you did and sealings aren't meant to turn you into whatever the hell that was, because that wasn't you."

Watching the desperation in her eyes, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "What did you mean talk to you as you?"

Fixing her hat, guessing that Sakura went digging while she was asleep, Naruto released the unmoving Uchiha. "I can go into my mind, like it's a place. I wasn't thinking about a lot of things and just.. I suddenly was, but it wasn't me. Everything was bad and terrible and horrible, and it just was about the stuff I always ignored in my life." The idea of confessing that she could visit the Kyuubi meant to have died years ago and seeing it devour the chakra produced by the tomoe'd seal, and holding a conversation with said beast about the manipulating purple chakra, did not sound like a pleasant topic. "I have no idea what happened to you, but just. Whatever you saw or heard, is the seal talking."

Ignoring her final words, Sasuke couldn't help but ask the first question on his mind. "What does your mind take shape of?"

"...A sewer," she muttered sourly.

"I guess that makes sense, since your mind is always in the gutter." A forced laugh left Naruto's lips, going unnoticed by the hollowing Sasuke. Giving a side glance to his teammate, he allowed her to rest her head against his shoulder, their backs against the trunk as they faced Team 8 and Sakura. "Naru. Are you really the Fourth Hokage's daughter?"

"Are you gonna start calling me Naru now, just 'cause Naruto is a boys name?" Nose scrunched up, she shook her head at his almost insistence. "But.. yeah. I found out during the Wave mission from the seal on my neck," tapping the side of her neck not against the last Uchiha for emphasize, she sighed. "Every once in awhile when I dream, I see the memories she's chosen for me to have. It was supposed to be unsealed when I was older, so if I hadn't found out from her, I would've only just known, too." Explaining to him, the first person outside of blood or having known her parents, felt oddly comforting even though she knew the only thing he had left, was pictures and fading memories.

Knowing that if she was feeling insignificant and weak after just a few minutes of hearing the seal, he would as well and see any surprising strength of her as a threat.

"Trying to not really spread that around right now, 'cause then people will just wanna kick the shit out of me for that, and not because I'm super cool." Her final words felt fake and heavy, the lie used to normally boost her self esteem failing and falling into mud. "I wonder where Shisen went?"

The two most famed for ignoring their problems or chasing them on headstrong sat in the darkness of the tree, watching the others actively interact as real friends and almost like hyperactive children out in the light. To the both of them, it felt as though a real metaphor for their lives, always kept away in the dark to be glanced at in curiosity for their forcefully given curses of the public knowing unfortunate facts about them.

For once, instead of trying to join the others in the light, Naruto sat back in the darkness with Sasuke as they mulled over their lives.

* * *

 _Shisen = Line of Sight_

 _Damn. That thing with Orochimaru was hard to write._ _No need to fear though, Kakashi will soon be here! Even though Naruto is just a ball of insecurities currently._

 _In this chapter, we got to see what Orochimaru's curse mark did to Naruto, Sasuke and Naruto dealing with their odd friendship due to Naruto's method of exposing her gender_ _, and_ _we got a few proper flashbacks of everything Kushina lost and how seeing Kushina's life is beginning to effect Naruto. Family, school work and career paths dedicated to discovering and learning from the Old World to help the new one, and we even got to see Minato slightly encourage Kushina's "need of justice" (which was shown in Chapter 3 and 4). Long ass chapter though, makes up for my crappy posting time!_

 _"The Kids Aren't Alright" as in, the kids aren't alright. Pressure, demands, and truth blurring with what is seen in front of their eyes._

 _And all they can see is people dying and themselves failing._

 _Next Chapter: Borderline_

 _Uploaded: 10/6/16_

 _Updated: 10/9/16 - Added a few separating lines, defining words to emphasize scene changes/connections. I originally tried blending some things together to connect a lot of the teams with switching POV's, but it seems to have confused a few people so I tried clarifying it without changing too much - probably don't need to re-read the chapter._


	14. Borderline

**Chapter 14: Borderline**

The jounin lounge was loud and full of excited chatter, several unique individuals all dressed in almost matching outfits or at the very least, matching vests.

The center of all the attention were on five adults, four of them being jounin senseis and the last one having been the proctor of the First Exam. Watching as Gai, dressed in his usual unnecessarily tight green leotard, yell in the uninterested face of Kakashi as Asuma and Kurenai held a considerably more normal conversation with Ibiki about their students' progress, a stack of collected exams being given to them as he read off the notes he collected.

Only when he passed two full sheets and an origami frog to Kakashi, did the uninterested look pass and a comical look enter his eye as he flicked it to hop around his lap.

Ignoring the cries of being ignored by Gai and Kurenai's jab of being immature, the feeling of eyes watching him did not pass but instead, slightly lessened as one woman from across the room looked away.

He saw her the moment she walked in and like usual, they passed each other with no words.

It was almost like a childish game for everyone having been involved from the beginning of it, and he couldn't blame a single one of the players for never ending it. There was no winning or losing however, only small breaks when they were forced to acknowledge each other. He played it with Jiraiya during the very few visits, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha on the street, and the Psych ward continuously reminded him that it wasn't healthy to ignore the connections of his dead friends.

Jokes on them, he was the sensei to the children connected to his dead friends and on probation to be away from them.

It might please them that he technically broke it once already, now that he thinks of it.

The woman though, ankles crossed as she sipped from a small plastic cup near the water cooler, her knee-length mocha shaded kimono with pine shaded ends that matched her jounin vest, wearing loose sandals similar to monks. Nails painted a deep green that almost matched her forest green eyes, naturally highlighted hair that could compete with the bark of trees, her appearance reflected both her chakra nature and name.

Watching her set down her cup with an alarmed look in her eyes, she disappeared in a smoky poof, Asuma following not even a minute later.

"I guess my kids made it through the second exam," he chuckled before disappearing.

* * *

 **Naruto's POV**

Team 8 ended up coming with us to the tower, all of us having both scrolls. Feeling their uneasy chakra and eyes on the back of her neck, Ino not obsessing over teme for once, I knew it was because of Sasuke and I.

After resting and almost falling asleep with my head against Sasuke's shoulder, Team 8 and Sakura settled and I barely heard Sakura explain what had happened since we entered this damn training ground. My face didn't blush, I didn't try and act humble or over exaggerate my strength for fun or even explain what happened to me after I was thrown miles away from them.

My face paled and I could feel my blood pump through my body, feeling almost like I was cold and was nearly shivering.

When the others finally came into the dark, Shikamaru awkwardly told Sasuke that they were heading to the tower later tonight in the safety of the night, and invited Team 7 to come along if we had both scrolls. Nudged back to earth to confirm that I still had our scroll, I could feel Team 8's shifting looks at Sakura and Sasuke having actually given me the scroll.

Clenching my parasol, my mismatched eyes closed in the dark.

 _I'm not that useless, am I?_

I mean, I'm able to turn into paper and do some sealing, and they can't do that - _they could seal if they wanted to_.

I'm holding the Kyuubi for fucks sake, and only Uzumaki could do that! _Why would they want to?_

When I finally fell asleep as I forced the touch-sensitive teme to hold my hand, I didn't dream. It felt like only seconds passed from when I closed my eyes and opened them once again, Sasuke clumsily forcing my goggles back over my head. Sending a weak grin as I slapped his hands away, he stared unmoving into my dimmed eyes as Ino once more went over Sakura's hair, Shikamaru and Choji sharing a bag of chips in the moonlight as they stretched.

The affection between me and Sasuke was never mentioned and based on Sakura not tearing me a new hole to shit out of, she probably didn't even figure out my gender. The thought of Ino and Sakura backing off because Sasuke appeared gay brought a small grin to my face, but the almost fearful looks when we began travelling ruined the daydream of Sasuke finally not being an egotistical ass.

Shikamaru and Choji only gave me and Sasuke nods of goodbye, Ino whispering something in Sakura's ear before quickly waving to Sasuke.

A riddle of having honed ones body and mind to become chunin on the wall gave Sasuke the bored theory of finally opening the scrolls.

 _You graduated at the bottom of the class for a reason._

Smoke began rising from the center of the unraveled scrolls, and tossing them to overlap in the middle of the floor - a large puff had filled my lungs. Bending over slightly to cough my stomach out, a warm finger lifted my whole face up and kind forest eyes filled my vision. Finger removed as I finished coughing, she stepped a few paces back, eyes roaming over our dirtied and bloodied appearance.

"Congratulations on passing the Second Exam. I am Jounin Midori Sarutobi and it is a pleasure to finally meet the new Team 7!"

My mouth felt dry, finally meeting her.

Best friend of Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina Uzumaki, my godmother.

"You guys are probably tired and you look terrible, so-" with a snap of her fingers, a genjutsu behind her wavered to reveal a door, "if you go through that door and up the stairs, you can spend the next 2 days recovering and relaxing, as the exam isn't over just yet."

Sakura looked relieved, nearly running to the door and I grabbed the shirt of the slow-moving Sasuke. Missing nin aren't suppose to be in chunin exams of their old villagers, leaving seals on genin.

Seeing the rejected glance from her as I pulled him backwards, I winced when I realized that my first meeting with her was going to be ruined with this.

"I'm happy that I finally get to meet you but the Snake Sannin Orochimaru attacked us in the forest and he bit us to leave seals and the teme had his expand on his body!" Rushing it all out and feeling Sasuke try and twist out of my grip, I flipped him the finger at his betrayed expression as Midori looked on in disbelief. With a strong pull that sent Sasuke crashing into me, we fell onto the ground wrestling as I tried to force his ridiculously large collar to show his neck.

Hearing her sigh after a particular tug, I paused in my wrestling long enough for the stubborn bastard to push me off him.

"I didn't believe it when I was told you two were rivals, but I'll have to report this immediately to Hokage-sama. Naruto, Sasuke, you'll both likely be summoned by ANBU to speak about what happened, but when I have free time, I will most certainly find you later." Waving an elegant hand toward the door, she smiled almost bitterly. "Until then, go and relax."

Giving her a small wave as Sasuke grumpily walked to the door, when it swung close behind us he turned to the nearby stairwell without looking at me, "Who was that?"

"How do you not know?" His mother was still around for awhile, so what the hell? "Actually, _what_ do you know?"

The stairs winded up into a lazy circle for two levels and landed into two hallways with signs hanging from their ceiling, and an open space filled with tables and a covered up serving section. One very small hallway was labeled Bathing with smaller signs for male and female, the other was labeled Practice. Making our way up to the top floor where there were four hallways, no signs besides a small board listing rules of staying in the bedrooms, I followed him as he went to a random one, knocking before entering and attempting to slam the door in my face.

"Seriously teme, you don't know her?"

"Should I?" Pushing past him and into his chosen room, I sat on the closest thing to the door, it being a small chair. Beside it was a stand with a lamp and a clean ashtray, almost outdated pamphlets of places to visit around Konoha messily scrambled across it, Sasuke almost falling onto the twin sized bed on the other side of the chair.

"Do you want me to just start from the beginning, because if you really don't know, you're not gonna believe me." Seeing him only roll his eyes as he settled into the crisp bed sheets, I started explaining to him in almost desperation to connect with him _normally_ , my loud voice keeping him awake to hear it.

I told him everything I knew. Our mothers being friends with Midori from taking several missions together as genin and chunin, mom teasing Mikoto over her crush on Fugaku before they were arranged to be married, Mikoto and Midori staging several things to hook up my parents, quite a few of their personal missions for justice even though they weren't paid for it, the planned play dates meant for us, and all the pranks they played on each other before and during the pregnancies.

He didn't cry, didn't interrupt, or anything besides listen to me talk. Had to check if he was still awake sometimes but all he did was lay there, watching my gestures and poor reenacting.

"Why didn't she ever meet me?" He finally asked, and I could only shrug guiltily.

"She didn't meet me either, if that makes you feel better. Jisan said that she borderline overworks herself and we're political pieces, so she probably couldn't be allowed to take care of us." Lifting his head off the pillow with rised eyebrows wondering what the hell I was talking about, I sent the look back. "You're the last Uchiha and I'm apparently a princess. The _Sandaime Hokage_ 's own niece taking care of us? God, the council would break their hips." His head planted back into the pillow with a weird emotion pointed to the ceiling as my cover up went unnoticed.

 _Nobody's allowed to control the monster._

Yawning, I stood up and grinned at him. "I'm gonna go to bed though, mkay teme?"

"Goodnight Naru." Closing his eyes and tucking his face under a pillow, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's Naruto, you prick." Taking the two steps to the doorway, I flicked the light off for him before leaving. "G'night, teme."

Across the hall and three doors down, I chose a room that was an exact replica of Sasuke's and tugged my boots off to be lazily thrown under the night stand, my jacket flung to hang over the chair and planted my face into the two pillows.

 _If you dream, you'll see everything you stole._

When I ignored even forming the actual thoughts, they couldn't attack me. Knowing that almost everything the corrupted fucking seal said to me was close to the truth, it hurt.

I know I didn't take away mom's life because the Kyuubi escaped, since she was able to live afterward to even make a memory for me. The only way to reseal the damn fox was to die for it, unless it was weak with actual threats of escaping. Plus, there was a difference between my clan members and the villagers! My clan knew how sealing worked damnit, and will know that I'm not the Kyuubi in disguise in mere seconds of hearing that _bullshit_.

And I'm almost 13, my hormones are a damn thing like they are with everyone else.

I did end up dreaming, of what life could've been. Bedtime stories, play dates with Sasuke, him staying with us if the massacre still happened. Dad scolding me when I pranked before overlooking my punishments, a smile dancing on his lips as he tried to be angry in front of others. Kakashi-sensei babysitting, pulling his hair and snuggling with him after playing, him maybe becoming my sensei anyways. Walking around with no glares, instead getting smiles and waves, being reminded of coupons and deals to local stores wanting my business for once.

When I woke up, it was to a world that left me alone with a cold hand that wasn't mine against my neck.

Still wearing my goggles, I only ended up bumping them when I reached to rub my eyelids. Seeing Kakashi-sensei though above me once again sent a shiver down my spine before a cold and heavy feeling sat deep in my stomach as a familiar warmth reached between my legs.

It took me a second to realize it was shame.

Pulling off my goggles and hat in one jerk, I finally did rub at my eyes as his hand never moved against my throat, his thumb circling the left side. Sleepily watching him, he was dressed as normal but his headband was lifted and I could see his spinning Sharingan focused on my neck. Letting the tingle in my spine and sweet spot remain, I practically bathed in the shame under his attention.

"Aa, when Hokage-sama heard, a manhunt for Orochimaru was formed," his eyes found mine and I could feel my breath be taken at the intense stare. "He wasn't captured, but when we asked Sasuke and Sakura, we found out what he said as he bit you and Hokage-sama decided that you should just be left to rest until you were awake for questioning."

"For questioning..?" The way he said it sound almost as if the T&I Division were going to handle me themselves, but he shook his head at the fear entering my eyes.

"Ah no, Naruto-chan, not like that." He was sitting on the edge of my bed, one leg bent alongside my body as the other hung off and kept him steady. The hand that circled my throat ended up setting itself comfortably on the other side of my body, him leaning onto his left arm as he peered down onto my neck. "Hokage-sama just gave me a list of questions to ask you to report back to him." Leaning back, he gave a pleasant eye smile. "Nobody has absolutely any idea what you went through and don't want you to feel too pressured when you're suppose to be relaxing."

Nodding, I smiled nervously as he leaned back, still above me. Probably pinning me so I didn't try and run away from my problems, literally this time.

"Starting from the beginning, what happened when you were blown away by the wind?"

"There was a huge snake that ate me, and I had to kage no bunshin my way out of it. Blew up everywhere and Shisen, the crow, started talkin' to me. Told him that I didn't really have time on if we could talk later, but I don't know where he is now. He followed us all the way back from Wave, ya know? Was caught by Gatou to be an exotic pet before we blew the hideout up."

"Sakura said he was meant to prevent something?"

"He was serious 'bout that?" Looking deep into his eyes, I swallowed nervously. "When I was heading back, he was going on anyway about how a ton of cultures before ninjas or advanced technology even existed believing that crows and ravens were known for predicting the future, two named Mind and Thought? I thought he was just trying to give me history or something, not hint at what we were suppose to talk about or whatever."

Sensei hummed for a moment, his eyes tracing my body over. ' _Isn't the Sharingan suppose to predict the future by just a few seconds, too? Memorize all the little details - oh. He's trying to see if I'm lying.'_

 _Are you really that dumb?_

"Both Sasuke and Sakura said that Orochimaru called you a experiment, do you know why?" Carefully wording his question, I snorted sadly.

 _Everything about you is an experiment to everyone interested._

"He put the same thing on me as he did to the teme, and I guess he just wanted to see if it'd stay at all. It didn't, 'cause the Kyuubi ate it."

"The Kyuubi.. ate it?"

Lightly grinning at my choice of words, I bobbed my head at the raised eyebrows. "Yup! When I went to my mind, I watched his-hers, what the hell ever it is because no one knows, eat the purple chakra the seal was making until it was gone. We ended up sort of talkin' after it."

I watched his eyes close with a heavy sigh, an alarmed look passing by. "What did you and the Kyuubi speak about?"

"He told me what the seal was doing. Trying to corrupt me to go dark side, be evil and all that. He explained it as trying to get me to feel weak and vulnerable, so Orochimaru could sweep in later and offer power. Only after I rejected his offer though, 'cause it still failed somehow."

 _Liar._

"Mm, can you reword that, Naruto?"

"The seal he gave me, pretty sure it's the exact same as teme's, but was just meant to produce this nasty chakra stuff to uh, manipulate dreams and some memories, disrupt your chakra to make you weaker. Make people paranoid, hurt and knock them down. Then when you call for it, it's suppose to help transform you with boosts of power so you feel stronger." Staring at the wall to my right to avoid his gaze, accidentally walking into the trap of confessing how I felt, my bottom lip trembled. "Then when you're all pissy or upset, the fucker Orochimaru will come back and use you in exchange for whatever you want. Kyuubi tried it himself, because I felt so _terrible_ , but I still said no."

His left arm ended up moving in its place on the bed from being around my hips to almost touching my shoulder. His right hand ran through my hair, a sigh of pleasure escaping my lips before they clapped shut and humiliation flowered across my reddening cheeks. "Naruto, did anything else happen in there?"

"It.. it wasn't very nice." Hands fiddling with my torn and filthy shirt, my eyes squeezed shut. "Not the Kyuubi, but whatever the seal was. Was using my voice again me, pretending to be me."

"You can tell me what it said, Naruto. I won't tell Hokage-sama, I promise." A nervous tremble wrecked through my body, feeling uncomfortable as at the same time I was feeling insecure and upset when my own voice was used against me.

"That mom and dad didn't love me, them dying because of me, that I can't save my clan and that I.."

 _You'll drop your panties if he just kisses you right now._

" _.._ That you'll, what?"

 _Let him bend you over wherever he wants._

Feeling him poke my forehead with his thumb in the middle of his hand making another run through my hair, I opened my own eyes as my mouth dropped open, the words trying to form but failing. "Naruto-chan?"

"That I'd _fuck_ anybody who gives me attention." I blurted out, an almost funny surprised look filled his eyes, eyebrows crawling into his headband. The voice that held the same level of mocking but still in my own tone was sending unwanted tingles with its borderline dirty words with just enough for my imagination to go wild, a visible shiver rocking my body when I felt his fist clench the sheet near my shoulder.

I could see the quick understanding look form in the part of his face that I could, him clearly attempting to resist the urge to step back and see on who I meant by _anybody giving me attention._ Keeping my mouth closed to not say anything stupid or to give off on what I did with my teammate, I winced when he opened his own mouth instead.

"I, I don't understand?"

 _Just kiss him, he'll understand that you need him between your legs._

 _'No I don't, I just have a crush on him. A grown up crush on him, that has lust and all that shit.'_ I shot back. The source of the voice was gone, but not the train of thoughts it sent plowing to me unwillingly.

 _He'd plow you so nicely that you'd forget everything you've done._

My cheeks were nearly glowing red and my crazy breathing was almost starting to make me feel lightheaded. Even when I saw it in his eyes, he didn't act on the want to move back, but stayed in his place _above_ me. "Naruto, you do understand how our community feels about our ages, correct?"

Groaning at his cautious question, the door nearly slammed open to reveal Sasuke almost juggling two trays with food, one more controlled as the other had containers stacked. The lamp was turned off but the light coming from the hallway casted his shadow onto us, still lighting us just enough to show him our position.

Kakashi-sensei leaning lowly above me, a hand in my hair and the other keeping his balance with both his eyes exposed. Me, face red and out of breath, in the middle of groaning at my own embarrassment with my changed appearance revealed.

None of us moved and even though the normally quiet bastard is off on his own brooding, the slightly forced bonding of being pushed away by others and the growing connections our life was meant to have has him almost opening up, or at least willing to brood around someone for a change. I did not expect some damn gossiping as we braided each others hair about who we liked as I tried to explain what was going on between me and sensei, but my lungs needed actual air from holding my breath to see what would happen.

My need for air seemed to knock them out of their frozen trance, sensei only running his hand through my hair one last time before quickly disappearing in a poof.

"Teme, that was _nowhere_ what it looked like." His face was blank but he finally ended up coming into the room, setting down the trays on the nightstand before closing the door as I sat up on the bed. "I'm serious! I was just being questioned about what happened and he wanted to know what happened in my mind and it was really weird and I was just being honest -"

"Dobe, I won't tell." Sitting on the edge of the bed where Kakashi-sensei once was with the less food-stacked tray on his lap, he flicked the light on and stared at me through his eyelashes. "He was close to your mom, right?"

"Uh, yeah?" Nodding as he pulled the top off a fruit packet, he drank the juice before setting it back down on the tray.

"Then if you get caught by someone else, say he was comforting you about her."

I wanted to punch him, feeling a part of myself shrivel up in the corner of embarrassment since he clearly wasn't going to listen to my explanation. Sighing with my slowly tortured soul of being on a stubborn team, I looked over what I guess was my tray and sat it on my own lap, legs folding before me. The more expensive rations in the shinobi stores were apparently bought to be served with fresh meat since we weren't allowed to leave the tower and I could name the veggies and fruits Sasuke probably purposely stacked on top of each other, multiple chicken breast slices thrown on its own plate at the top of the tower of health.

Thinking about it now, sensei probably thinks that by fucking anything that gives me attention, I meant mainly Sasuke. At least I can pretend that whatever future awkward silences I have with him will be spent him believing I wanted to screw my rival up the wall, even if I'd just be living in denial.

"Hey, where's Sakura-chan?" Slipping out from around the being chewed chicken as soon as it passed my mind, the raven-haired bastard slowed in his own chewing, pointedly swallowing before speaking.

"After we were summoned to speak with Hokage-sama, she ran away from me." Snorting sadly once again, I ignored his expecting glance. "Do you know why?"

"I have nooo idea. She didn't really like Eruda, hates it when I use my ability, so best guess is that she's afraid of bloodlines."

 _You're just lying to everyone now, aren't you?_

* * *

 **3rd POV**

None of his students were the same. They entered an exam to test their abilities to move up in the ranks and the results he expected from their first serious mission felt delayed, now showing on their dirtied and aging too quickly faces.

Kakashi wanted to bang his head through a wall.

Last night as the jounin off duty settled down in their exclusive lounge, Midori and Asuma disappeared, only for an ANBU member to barge in yelling about an emergency meeting ordered by the Hokage not soon after.

Gathered at the platform, an injured and stubborn Anko limped into the room beside Midori, her seal flaring on her skin once more.

Anko spilled her guts as strong as she could without revealing her real emotions, and Kakashi respected her for it but could not relieve his muscles when she got to the topic of what Orochimaru told her. Immediately a manhunt was begun and Kakashi shunshinned into the tower with the Hokage by his side.

Sakura and Sasuke were dragged out of the canteen and room respectively, reporting everything they saw.

His fangirling student next to her affections did not look at him, speak to him, or even act scared or shy before authority like he expected. Instead, she stared into the face of the Sandaime Hokage and could coldly confess in detail behind her wild locks of watching Sasuke be turned into a monster as he almost ripped out the arm sockets of another genin. Watching her, he expected Sasuke to act the same way.

Firm, cold, disconnecting once again from the team for his ambition. Instead, he acted quite emotional for an average Uchiha. Guilt and regret flashed in his eyes and when Sasuke told what him and Naruto discussed in the darkness of the tree trunk, Kakashi felt a swell of a pride for the firey and loud girl. Romanced by Orochimaru's lie only to be held back by his dead-last counterpart, he wondered on how loud Naruto would kick up a storm when she woke up, but when the joke was made - his stomach was gnawed at with their empty looks. As soon as they were dismissed, Midori stepped forward to request to speak with Naruto, the comfort of someone close to her mother hopefully being able to get the possibly damaged Naruto to tell the truth.

He was close to her mother and her father. He was even her sensei and close to her as a person.

Voicing it, Hurizen sighed and waved Kakashi the go ahead, his and Midori's game breaking for her to glare at him.

The first thing he noticed was her chakra being frayed. He was not a sensor but the Sharingan exposed much more to him, and her whirlpooling chakra was forced into rough waters.

A sleep talker he learned in Wave, she was mumbling for family long ago dead in situations never able to happen, and he allowed her to continue the nightmare painted as a pleasant dream as he searched for the second seal on her neck. Not finding it, he rubbed her neck until she woke up.

Brash and loud like her parents when she's relaxed, there was a time where Kakashi believed her to be running forth on pure instinct alone into trouble. Throwing him through a loop like everything else is recently, she has proven herself able to be mature in the challenges Team 7 has already been faced. Despite her surprisingly calm reaction to waking up with his hand on her neck of all places, the changes in her attitude were glaringly obvious to the Sharingan.

Rough waters that only splashed uncontrollably, an odd scent entered his nose as her impossibly high charisma had completely drowned in her inner turmoil. She didn't get angry, loud, or even upset.

She blushed and appeared afraid to hear what he might say if she told the truth.

Receiving all the answers for his questions, he should've returned and reported what he heard right after. That both of her seals were okay and the third was gone with the Kyuubi itself admitting how it worked, that she was contacted by a crow summon, and the now obvious signs of what Orochimaru had planned for the last Uchiha. Instead, he attempted to try and comfort her, to start the stirring her whirlpool back to normal. Fingers in her hair, he couldn't get over the surprising colour as he eased the insecurities out of her.

When she finally confessed, he finally put a rushed name to the scent.

 _Female in heat._

This was not what he expected, wanted, or even needed to _know_.

The only problems Kakashi's fellow rookie sensei's went through were stares that they corrected! How do you persuade one of the most stubborn kunoichi that you were the worse option in absolutely everything outside of needing someone to be quickly assassinated? The only thing he could even let loose from his mouth was ask her on if she was sure she knew the views of their shinobi community and beat himself up inside when he realized it could sound like encouragement. He should've told her immediately that she shouldn't pursue someone so old, should find someone who sees her as herself, and not one of her parents friends anyways!

Going on about being royalty, calling to bring forward a supposedly dead clan, he thought she'd begin caring for her image - not pursing further shuns to be made by the public.

Yeah, he said he'd be and do anything for her in another life time, where she was meant to be his little sister.

But, she wasn't her and this world wasn't what it was meant to be.

* * *

There was only about another two and half days left before the second exam ended. Having woken up just in time for lunch to be delivered to her, Naruto spent every minute after Kakashi's departure in guilt. She adored Sasuke actually wanting to spend time with her, her goal of being his equal met but she wanted to _suffer in peace_. She just wanted to lay down and wallow in guilt of the darkness in her room, and maybe finally start piecing herself together since she seemed to be avoiding that as well.

When her stomach began growling again, Sasuke sending a glare to it, they agreed to scope the place out together and see if there was another room to waste time in after eating.

On their way to the cafeteria, Naruto watched as Sasuke purposely avoided others. Giving wide berth at passing others, never looking another in the eyes, the chunin on guard even noticed the different behavior and gave them both odd looks. So when they chose their own little corner away from the rest of the rookies, she leaned over the table and smacked him upside the head.

"The hell is wrong with you, teme?"

Kicked under the table, she almost attempted flinging a fruit pack at him before he gave an ugly look. "I don't see the point in socializing with people so different than us."

She wished she could figure out what he meant, but the only thing coming to mind was the heir status that all the rookies, besides Sakura held. "Literally everyone besides Sakura is a heir, you arrogant dick."

"No, dobe," he started with a scowl. "Orphans."

Blinking at him as he ate, Naruto's mind went wild on how Orochimaru's seal could be effecting her friend in this way.

Out of nowhere, he wanted to be close with people with similar situations of being the 'last member' to a dead family, going out of his way to avoid people as if he was shy. _'Maybe the snake fuck-tard's seal is trying to make him completely isolate himself? ..Or is this just my fault because I've been pointing out all the things that could've been different if our parents were alive?'_

"Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji Hyuuga are orphans." Naruto thought out loud, eyes turned upwards to the ceiling. "Would they be allowed to hang out with us?" Watching his darkened eyes, a questioning look was the only thing given. "They're Team 9, under Might Gai?" Wiggling fingers under his nose, her hand was smacked away as he scowled.

"The Hyuuga's are still _alive_ at least," he grumbled irritated.

"Yeah, but Tenten and Rock Lee are complete orphans from the start, like me."

"You may be an orphan," Resting his arms on the table, he intently stared into her eyes. "But you still have a clan to resurrect."

"Tenten and Rock Lee have hopes for the future," a voice interrupted, turning both Sasuke and Naruto's head to the intruding woman, Midori sliding into a seat at the small table beside Naruto. Dressed in her original attire, her forest shaded eyes shined at the two with interest. "Just because they don't have a clan to resurrect, doesn't mean they don't have plans for a future family - close your mouth, Naruto."

Snapping her mouth shut with a piece of fruit almost falling out, Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "What are you two talking about, anyways? It's rude to talk about someone's goals without knowing them too well." Raising an eyebrow as her legs cross over her ankles, Sasuke grunted in his place.

"It's none of your business." Glaring at her through his eyelashes, Naruto's own jaw dropped once more as Midori glanced away.

"Teme, that's rude-"

"I don't care. If she was apparently friends with our mothers, then she had the past 12 years to speak to us. Instead, she waits until now."

Giving her a sideways glance, Naruto heavily sighed. "We're not the only ones in the world with issues, Sasuke." Not meeting either of their surprised eyes, she focused on poking at the plate stacked with meat as she nearly mumbled the words out. "We lost our families and she lost her best friends since she was just a kid. We're all going to grieve over it differently, so at least hear her out."

Gripping the end of the table tightly, Sasuke glared into her goggles for a moment before turning to Midori stiffly. "Then start explaining."

"Your parents loved you both with all their hearts, in and out of the womb, and I loved them." Smiling down at her hands, Midori closed her eyes peacefully. "When we were not teamed together for our short or long termed missions, we were at least making time to spend a few hours without the boys every Sunday evening. Whether you two know it or not, but at the time of the Kyuubi attack I had become an Academy teacher's assistant and was overlooking some detentions. I.. ended up locked away with the students, unable to fight. Kushina passed without Mikoto or I there, and I took it.. incredibly hard."

Fighting a guilty look off her face, Midori sighed before opening her eyes. "I was taken off active duty and demanded to take a minimum six month vacation, and unable to find a loophole past any of the political standings with you, Naruto, I took it out of the village. Mikoto having left the forces completely, was too busy with her family, either being a newborn or in school, Fugaku appeared to not have any spare time to take care of his children for his wife's well deserved vacation." Puckering her lips sourly, well manicured fingers tapped on the table nervously, "It lasted two years and when I returned, another year was spent with no progress to get to Naruto and there was.. a disagreement with Mikoto and Fugaku in the fourth."

"A disagreement?" Sasuke asked, suspiciously.

"When I said I loved them, I truly mean it." Sending a hard look to them both, Naruto's mouth dropped into a small O of realization as Sasuke only rose an eyebrow. "I spent a total of four years off duty, the last one having taken care of you for Mikoto to finally grieve herself, Sasuke. Too young to remember much, though Fugaku, the big oaf, somehow believed that I was attempting to _steal_ her." Rolling her eyes with a hint of a childish pout, it quickly turned into a reddening scowl. "While Kushina did have a streak for righteous justice, having random spouts of chasing for strangers to fight for, I followed her each step of the way to ensure her return. Mikoto never did, staying behind to secure our status of loyal kunoichi that weren't going rogue or to gather materials to heal our injuries before anyone noticed that we were gone," chuckling under her breath harshly, Midori flashed a smile to the two slack jawed.

"It is unacceptable for me to suddenly arrive and heartless to assume you'd allow me to - not take their place, but to be _here_ for you like I couldn't when you both needed someone in the past - "

"But you had your own issues," Naruto interrupted her softly. "I don't have a problem with you suddenly appearing, I really don't. You loved them and you at least tried. I know how difficult it can be to fight for someone like _me_ of all things." Sending a thickly wattaged grin to her as Midori hesitantly wrapped an arm around the fire spirit, Naruto leaned into the one-armed hug happily. "No idea what Sasuke thinks, so it might take a little more convincing and forceful bonding."

"I'll still make it up to you, both of you." Midori finalized with a hard stare to the frowning Sasuke. Putting a name to the expression that he once labelled as dobe insistence, he decided to point blank relabel it as Uzumaki Influence as he sunk into his spot. Patting Naruto's back before releasing her, Midori slid to the other side of the table to sit uncomfortably close to the inching away Uchiha. "I suppose it is time to reveal to you that I wanted to hog you two all to myself. Quite the busy bodies you will be, wanted a moment alone to at least introduce myself!" She happily chirped with a note of disdain as she observed the Uzumaki's eating habits. Shaking it off, she gave a small charming smirk. "If you follow the staircase all the way to the top, you'll find a window, Naruto."

It took a whole moment before the meaning made sense, the Uzumaki heiress nearly falling out of her chair as she made a sprint to the stairs before returning, scrambling to grab her tray and to shovel a combination of fruit and colding meat into her mouth before once again making a run to the stairs.

Passing the Sand Team with a meaningful glance to Gaara, she took two steps at a time on the spiraling staircase, the circle becoming closer and tighter the higher she ran.

"Little Uzumaki." Nodding his small head as greeting, Shisen sat as a ruffled ball of feathers on the window's edge. "You are different." He said, matter-of-factly.

Taking deep breaths to catch her breath, Naruto leaned against the wall opposite of the sleek crow before sliding down with her tray to be forgotten beside her. "What do you mean, different?"

Sending a flatline look, the Uzumaki quietly wondered on if Crows could smile.

"Besides your genes having shifted, your chakra is exposing your emotions. The eccentric harmony is flattened into a dull hum - you are feeling insecure." Wincing and hiding her face in between her knees, she heard Shisen sigh. "I was meant to prevent your teammate's own seal, not yours." Picking at a feather as Naruto peaked up in curiosity - he caught it with a nod. "We foresaw the deal you made with your prisoner and we weren't meant to prevent that."

"What? You said that Crows are meant to see the future and that - "

"We do not predict every second," Interrupting with a squak, Shisen hopped to his feet. "We see moments and we pick them apart with the information we currently hold. We saw his curse and a fist-shaped hole in _your heart_!" Jaw dropped, Naruto's fingernails dug into her knee caps as her breath escaped her. "Foreseeing the future does not give us the right to choose for others on how they'd like to spend their time, but that does not give others the right to choose who to ruin."

Staring at the crow with her heart beat pumping out of control, the dead-last hung her head in defeat. "I don't understand why you're here, then."

"You are insecure, not foolish." Bitterly sending a small glare, Shisen fluttered down to stand before her. "The Crow Contract has either been passed down from Uzukage to the next, or to those who are worthy. If you are not hoping to become Uzukage, you are still worthy."

"..Worthy enough to be saved?" Shyly asking with eyes downcasted, the crow huffed at her question.

"Your attempts to continue kicking yourself while down are not discouraging. The sky may be dark for now, but you have a wonderful habit of lighting the candles that others hold. All you have to do is ask them to light yours once again."

"You still didn't answer my question on why you're here." Naruto stated, frowning at the encouraging words. _'I have no idea who to go to, who won't freak out about what I did.'_

"Summon animals are used for companions to assist you in battle, all with a preference of summoner they have the ability to nitpick for. Most Uzumaki's are quite loud, but it is where their hearts lie that we are drawn to them." Watching her shift in her spot and sending her legs to stretch outward, he hopped on to her ankle. "You never wanted genuine revenge, only to pull the wool out from ones feet to show the truth. Even when you've been revealed to take your family home to the graveyard, you kept your chin up and marched forward with the responsibility dragging your feet in the path you've made yourself."

Silent but eyes wide and ears milking out the words that exposed some of his own information, the hidden girl smiled.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, it does actually." Hesitantly reaching a hand out, Shisen hopped closer and placed himself below the palm. "Do you really think I'm enough to do it all?"

The crow bobbed his small head slowly with Naruto's petting. "I've seen you battle. I've heard you speak. Your family normally leans on being unorthodox, but the stability you offer as well will help you all even when the stars are hidden by clouds."

Humming as she lost her focus in petting the affection-starved crow, Naruto's eyes found the open window and could see the sun setting behind the enormous tree tops.

Battling off the voice that whispered her flaws with the truth and well-done excuses, the Uzumaki lost herself in a daydream of how she could use her clones to speed up building, hunting alongside her cousins for huge campfires, and trying to convince everyone for an Academy to be rebuilt and sending everyone to earn their ninja status again.

She wasn't sure on being Hokage anymore. Konoha was thriving, besides the isolated incidents that left the citizens crying every once in awhile. Uzushi was left to decay as an empty skeleton, the citizens that made up her insides rotting alone all across the Elemental Nations.

"Hey, Shisen? If you don't choose for anyone on how to spend their lives even though you can see part of the future, then what do you do?" Eyebrows furrowed as she wondered out loud, he blinked up at her.

"Offer subtle wisdom casually and save lives."

* * *

Promised to reappear once again when she had free time and space for her to finally sign the contract, Naruto walked down the tower with a firmer step and a determined expression. Finding Sasuke sitting alone on the spiraling staircase, he shushed her before checking for others.

Searching the tower after confirming that Midori wasn't chasing him around for that forceful bonding, two large rooms were found on the ground floor. One with a keep out sign, the other was meant to be used as a training area. Only slightly used already with her schedule pushed back, she threw herself onto her hands and knees to begin sweating all over the floor well after even Sasuke went to bed.

Naruto from there, decided that if she can't be strong enough for herself, then she'll at least be strong enough for Shisen and her family. While they depended on the title and power behind a refugee'd princess and Daiymo chosen clan heiress in their allies home, she knew it wasn't her true position to those with genuine influences in Konoha.

Jinchuuriki to the Nine Tailed Fox, strongest uncontrollable entity, she was a war-tool. Meant to be sent out to the frontlines to finish the long battles to obliterate everyone in her way, she couldn't help a maddening fox grin as her clones attacked her.

She wasn't too strong yet, but the moment she was exposed at the Yellow Flashes daughter and able to show it - her other titles will be flying out of every gossiper's mouth alongside it until they rallied behind her in her difficult times.

When the last clone was destroyed and when her chakra teetered dangerously to empty, it was well past midnight.

Throwing herself into the female bathroom with no disturbances in another's chakra, her clothes came undone and water coated her body. Silent in the large locker room otherwise, she kept herself distracted with more daydreams. Built with endless possibilities and filling the cracks in her plans for support and exposure, she couldn't wait to see Toshiko and begin her training further.

The remaining day was left at that. Repeating the actions of pushing away her problems described as insecurities with focus on the now, besides seeing Sasuke and an angry Sakura once with a stinging cheek and the word monster echoing in her ear, Naruto ignored the rest of the rookie 9. Dragging Sasuke along for sparring in exchange for answering questions, she shook her head each time the Uchiha ran away from Midori's friendly reminders to hydrate.

Her own questions about her parents were answered excitedly and her questions about her mysterious teacher left a sour expression across the earthly woman's face. Participating in unique chakra controls that she'd later copy for the pouting last Uchiha, Naruto made sure to send comments and expressions to confuse Gaara with each free moment - at one point where Kankuro wondered out loud on if she had a death wish to be apparently _flirting_ with the redhead.

Ignoring it to continue neglecting her boxed off insecurities that also contained her attraction to specific persons, the night before the Second Stages ending left her walking away with a hung head with her insecurities, responsibilities, and ideals finally becoming one.

* * *

The canteen was filled with everyone's sensei's at individual tables. Three pushed together to form a large table to fit Team 8 and 10, Kakashi was idly sitting with a frowning Sakura away from their loud group at a small squared table. Casually gathered around another small table was Team 9, Lee and Gai shouting as Neji and Tenten looked ready to beat their heads in and in the shadows of a corner quite close, Suna Team sat as the only Sound Team sat with their table clearly moved to stay clear from Team 7.

Sasuke at her side and almost hiding away from wandering eyes, Naruto sat herself right across from Kakashi, Sakura to her left. Right around from behind the Copy Nin, Gaara's stare could be caught. Holding onto the edges of the table as she tilted her chair back onto two legs, Naruto loudly huffed.

"Yo."

"What's this all about?" Gesturing the open space around them with a show of observing the others, Sakura shifted in her spot toward their sensei as Sasuke fell into his seat.

"Though the exam isn't finished until tomorrow, those who arrived early get to speak with their sensei's about the forest," almost cheerfully responding, Kakashi did not remove his eyes from his book.

Rolling her hidden eyes, the firey spirit crossed her arms on top of the table awkwardly. "So, therapy-like sessions?" Intently staring behind her goggles at the man who refused to look at her, he nodded with a flat hum.

Resting her cheek against her tan arm, Naruto caught the stare of Sasuke. Shrugging to him and receiving one back, his onyx orbs found their sensei's hidden face and began muttering. "You already know what happened to us in there."

"You should just tell us what you think," Sakura piped in venomously.

Surprised expressions were shot to the pink-haired girl as Kakashi slammed his book shut and shifted in his seat. "Well for one, I think you all were being incredibly dumb." Glaring hurtfully from behind her goggles as Sasuke gritted his teeth, the jinchuuriki attempted to hold her tongue. "You went against one of the Great Sannin. You should've have began running and said screw the exam, rather than risking your lives for a promotion."

Smacking a hand down irritably, Naruto barred her teeth and almost mocked him. "We went against one of the Great Sannin, if we ran away and said screw the exam, we wouldn't've gotten too far before he caught us."

"That is no excuse, _Naruto_. You had that Crow companion and bunshin, you could've sent one to inform someone that something was happening." Lone eye not finding her face, she huffed once again.

"Well I didn't, sensei. I'm still alive, aren't I? All of us are. What's the next thing we did _wrong_?"

Giving both the Uchiha and Haruno dangerous looks, the best guess to them all was that he was frowning in disappointment. "Sakura will not look at either of you and Sasuke is not interacting with anyone else besides you. Konoha's most valuable belief after the Will of Fire, is teamwork. You three don't need to be the best of friends, but you do need to at least be on friendly terms."

Leaning far back into her seat, Naruto sent a wave toward Sakura, snorting. "Then she should stop thinking I'm a monster," frowning at his relentless action of not looking at her, she groaned. "You're preaching to us about teamwork, but she smacked me and called me a monster when I tried asking her to sit with Sasuke and I for a meal earlier today."

Shoulders falling forward as the man crossed his arms, he turned his lonesome eye toward the glaring teammate. "Sakura, is this true?"

"Everyone already believes it. He was always perverted and rude when we were in the academy, his pranks humiliating everyone involved. He changed his hair colour to the roots, is able to turn into paper, and never said a single thing about when he blew up a hideout full of animals and _humans!"_ Tugging at her own hat, Naruto scowled.

"You've treated me like a freak since we were kids, why would I go to you on if blowing up creatures bothered me?" Seeing Sasuke raise an eyebrow and begin almost leaning out of his chair, she tugged him back into place. "Why would I tell you anything if it wasn't about our missions? Even when everybody thought you were a freak for your forehead, you didn't want to _see_ me! And now you're lumping Sasuke with me as a monster, when you saw what happened, thinking it's the same thing when it isn't -"

"Enough," voiced fined to a point, Kakashi finally took the time to lean in and stare each genin in the eye. "When this exam is over, win or lose, all three of you are going to visit the hospital." At Sakura, he shook his head. "You will attend a lecture with the head doctor who is efficient enough in seals and in his own research on bloodlines. To work alongside your current and future teammates, you need to get over this ridiculous fear of everything that meets a _civilians_ Science Fiction view of the path of Ninja." Turning to Sasuke, he sent a glare that pinned the Uchiha to his spot. "You will visit the Psych Ward and then me. Our intell on your seal has suggested that your mental state will be attacked and you're already beginning to show abrupt differences that when are cleared, I will seal it away."

Turning to Naruto finally, his steel grey orb closed in what the other two will believe irritation. "You will receive a full body check up and visit the Registration Office to accurately update your Shinobi Info this time. Hokage-sama's orders, along with your seals being checked." Sighing as he visibly relaxed before them, he only leaned back in his seat with his head hanging off the back.

"Someone once taught me that abandoning the rules and regulations made you trash," lone eye opened to stare at the ceiling, he continued. "With time, I've come to learn that he wasn't just talking about the Shinobi Code. You will be given inaccurate info and you have to make your own or accept it, but that's not enough to hate others for. Really, in the end, those who abandon their comrades and friends are worse than trash, and we all have our reasons for being the way we are."

Squinting at him in disbelief and hope at his words, after a moment Naruto could only look away and close her eyes to view the repeating looks speaking of deep hatred and pain of missing loved ones. She admittedly felt confused, as many of her current comrades outside of the team would leave her to parish on the field, even though she'd destroy cleared buildings to retrieve them.

Unable to muster her original positive attitude and taking the words to heart to ignore other's negative feelings until they matched her own, she instead held them close to said heart until she could appreciate its value. Difficult to apply to others who have wronged her, her individual path was one stepped in before by other jinchuuriki's with their prisoners made public, but she knew just based by the dead stare of the redhead behind her teacher that she was wandering into an uncharted forest into a new direction.

A new direction that the other 8 possibly could not understand as a heir to a throne gathering dust on top of dried blood, fingers dipping into her tarnished bowl with plain expectations.

Descriptive words were better than titles and with her plan of gaining political power in Konoha, they were all she was going to be known as soon. Princess, Clan Head, Yellow Flashes Daughter, Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and maybe one or two more to discriminate her. Each had a responsibility that followed it, upholding original expectations and rules themselves, acting as a ball and chain in the back of her mind.

And all of it started with her just wanting to be human, recognized and respected with the basic rights of one.

The stress that she worked off and buried into a shallow hole was tugged out and cleaned off, majority of the insecurities burning under the large pile of reminders as her mother's words rang through her ears loudly.

 _"It is up to you to do what's right, for yourself and those who you give your heart, in any manner you want."_

Toshiko was her adviser, meant to be around for this reason and within the two weeks of her being busy, Naruto was collapsing under the imaginary weight in silence. Of course there were personal issues that came with being shunned all her life, but with a small chuckle under her breath, the rest of the issues were waved off until she could speak to the older Uzumaki. She was only told to get more involved with Konoha and continue training, left in the dark from the rest of the world until her adviser's return. A rough draft to be ran by later to make her adviser understand the tragic life of a victim under shit circumstances, all she had to do was become stronger and keep up an image of strength where she was weak.

So with puckering lips to form a crooked grin with the familiar urge to begin yelling in someone's face to correct them, Naruto simply slammed the palm of her hands down onto the table before rising from her seat. Keeping the stare from the redhead, she walked around her team's table and stood before the other as her own thought grew mischievously. _'I honestly don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore, but who is better to connect to with personal issues than another jinchuuriki?'_

Four fingers up in her left and five in her right, Kakashi dropped his head in defeat at her words, Sakura's face etching horror as Sasuke watched on in disguised interest.

"Gaara, right? I live in room 26 of Matsuda's Apartment's on Kita road. If you ever want, just come over and we can trade stories, monster to monster!"

Dropping her fingers at his blood lust, she turned to the stairwell and sent a simple finger to Kakashi and Sakura, for refusing to look her in the eye and refusing to see past a terrible title respectively. Chuckling under her breath once again, nervously this time - she decided to procrastinate on fixing her bad habit of procrastinating everything that was now touching the thin line of going mad with itching pressure and wait.

* * *

 _"I'm borderline happy and I'm borderline sad, I'm borderline good and I'm borderline bad." -Tove Styrke_

 _Ever notice that when a type of damaged people are upset, they sort of just wanna screw away their feelings? To feel appreciated and loved? Or just push away everything to the side until they break? Yeeeaah. Otherwise, I had no idea how to end this chapter with starting the next one and cutting it off abruptly._

 _Crows are apart of folklore across the world with legends of bringing bad luck or predicting terrible futures. The two Ravens that sat upon Odin's shoulder named Mind and Thought were said to be sent out everyday to speak with everyone, alive or dead, and return to Odin to whisper what they learned to give Odin an idea of the future._

 _Yay for almost 400 favorites, over 550 follows, and 100+ words! Your reviews help fuel me and make my face flush. In a rush to update, so if there's any.. "holes" or a question - make a lil review._

 _Uploaded: 10/25/16_


	15. Expose and Destroy

**Chapter 15: Expose and Destroy**

Only one more team made it with minutes to spare, lead by Kabuto Yakushi with his two covered teammates.

Absolutely filthy compared to the others that had the time to shower and fix their clothing, all those that have completed the second exam have arrived and were set into lines of three. Variances of excitement and nerves bounced through the air as all their jonin sensei's and previous Proctors stood there, with a sickly man arriving next to the Third Hokage in a large cloud made up of shunshin and clearly his smoke.

The room was extremely large and open, a statue of the hand sign forming Ram pushed against the furthest wall from two doors, one leading to a small infirmary and the other leading to the rest of the tower. Two walkways with long stairways leading up to them, were several feet high above the ground. Carved into the paved wall, there were three different, yet subtle rises on the ground. Two platform-like raised lead to the third, where the Ram sign statue sat with all the proctors patiently waiting in a line.

Staring up at the higher ranking group, the six teams that survived were impatiently quiet. Naruto was, however, frowning. She knew what her sensei meant by everyone taking a trip to the hospital.

It meant that she needed to do the female physical exams, Sasuke needing his sanity evaluated, and Sakura learning about their DNA in depth and what seals could do to get over her fear over her two fellow teammates.

Naruto also knew that when her own chakra was being used, the seal on her stomach glowed. Mind feeling like it was almost tortured as her body rejected Orochimaru's seal as memories were pulled out of her mother's forcefully, the feeling of waking up to a twisted hat made her wonder on which seals Sakura knew about in the first place - as it wasn't a S-rank secret to figure out her prisoner. As long as she didn't tell anyone else who didn't know, though the Head Doctor _did_ know.

That still did not help the nibbling betrayal from the oldest man in her life, updating her gender onto her public information without her permission. Now she didn't even know who knew.

"First of all, congratulations on finishing the Second Exam! Didn't expect so many of you to be left, but heh." Mouth piece wrapped around her ear with her voice echoing through speakers in the ceiling, Anko's smirk was partially hidden as she leaned to her side. "Anyways, listen up! Hokage-sama will explain the Third Exam to you, so you better pay attention carefully!" Pointer finger reaching underneath a thick purple lock, the microphone was shut off though her voice carried to everyone's ears. "They're all yours, Hokage-sama."

Grunting in acknowledgement as a cloud of smoke left his lips, the elderly man in white stepped forward. "First, before I tell you what the Third Exam entails, I want to explain something about the test itself. Listen closely now, as it is something that you all need to understand. I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these exams."

"True purpose?" Hand on his stomach, Choji both hungrily and tiredly mumbled loudly, cheeks flushing when his voice and stomach lightly echoed in the wide room.

"Why do you suppose our countries hold these exams in conjunction with our allies?" Taking hold of the front of his hat as Kiba vocally hummed _I_ _dunno_ , Hurizen sighed. "To raise the ability levels of the Shinobi and increase friendship between allied nations, to be sure. But it's important that you understand it's true meaning, the exams are so to speak.." Attempting to find the correct words, he shifted in his spot. "They're a representation of the battles between allied nations."

"What's that suppose to mean!?" Stepping out of line behind her teammate Lee, Tenten worriedly spoke up before her mind could catch up with her mouth.

"Now, if we look at all the countries we are allied with, they were once neighboring nations that continuously fought with each other for power. In order to avoid destroying each other's military strength meaninglessly, those nations would pick champions to battle on behalf of their countries in a mutually selected location. That was how the chunin selection exams originally began."

"Why do we have to go through the exams then, I mean it's not like we're doing it to pick chunin to go fight?" Arms crossed her chest, Naruto saw Sasuke shift in the corner of her eye to attempt to silence her.

"Actually, there's no question that part of the point of these exams is to select shinobi worthy enough to become chunin, that's just not the whole story. These exams also allow for a place so shinobi can carry the pride of their nation on their backs, and fight against other ninja for their very lives. Many leaders and people of prominence countries are invited to attend this exam as guests and also to possibly seek shinobi to work for them later." Eyebrows raised unimpressed as Naruto's eyes found the Hokage's, she emphasized her frown despite the free political lesson. "This exam, could determine the course of your ninja work from here on out and more importantly, those future customers will watch your battles and take note of the strengths that each ninja and each nation is developing. If there is a gap in power between the countries, the strong nations will increase with requests for their ninja and the request for countries deemed weak, will decline. Therefore, the stronger our nation is, the better our position when it comes to negotiating with neighboring countries. So it's important to show how much military strength our village has."

"Why is it important for us to risk our lives for all this then!?" Fangs barred as Akamaru yapped, Kiba clenched his fists as Hinata flinched from his loud voice.

"The countries strength is the villages strength. The villages strength is the shinobi strength, and the true strength of the shinobi is when they're pushed to their limits such as in a life and death battle. This exam is a chance for each nation to display the strength of each shinobi and hence, the strength of the nation itself. It's because this is an exam where your life is on the line, that it has _meaning_. It's for this very reason that for the strength of the nation that you growing genin fight in this exam. To do so is truly a dream worth striving for." Resting his pipe on his bottom lip, the Sandaime closed his eyes as Tenten once again shouted.

"But then why did you use the expression of friendship before?"

"Then you only remembered half of what I said! You also mustn't have the wrong idea of the exams meaning. This is a custom in which balance is preserved by fighting and dying, as in the world of the shinobi, that is friendship. The Third Exam is a fight for life with the pride of your village and your own dreams at stake."

"Well, you sure convinced me," Naruto plainly said, the words being picked apart in her mind. _'I have to show my skills as they are to all the influential, future customers that won't know me for anything else besides a Uzumaki. Rally support, show off all that I got and hint at what I can be. Me leading later will only bring in more support. Any strength I show with what's left of my family behind me will not completely scare everyone. This has only been a test on if I'm serious enough to go through with everything they throw at me for my promotion."_

"Any test is fine. Just tell me what the details of the exam are already, I can handle anything you throw at me." The familiar flatline that sent shivers of fear up the other genin spines only made the fire-like girl rise to her tip toes to see the back of his red hair.

"Listen closely then, I'll be telling you exactly what you'll be doing for the Third Exam then."

Beginning another long huff, he was interrupted by the sickly man that had arrived with him. "I apologize, Hokage-sama. I - _auck_ \- do believe that we have too many contestants left before we begin the third phase." Voice scratchy and thick with nonexistent mucus growing, he hid his mouth behind his hand and began coughing.

"Hm, I suppose you're right." Giving a once over to the gathered group, Hurizen gave a small wave of goodbye as he disappeared in another cloud of smoke. Turning to face the impatient and growing irritated crowd, the sickly man sighed.

"What do you mean there is too many of us?" Lee shouted, Tenten nodding behind him as Kiba loudly groaned in agreement. Shikamaru could only sigh and hide his face in his hands, Naruto's jaw dropping at the man.

"Oh shit, that's Hayate Gekko!" She whispered excitedly, bouncing on the tip of her toes as she announced his name for him loudly. "Holy shit, I can't believe it."

"Who?" Sasuke actually lowly uttered to her, his body twisting to barely meet her hidden eyes. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed to her however, fingers spreading as he analyzed the tattoo on the back of her neck while she face-palmed.

"A preliminary exam will be held first, before the third one can begin - _auck_." Coughing in between his words with steadying breath, he tiredly rubbed at his vest. "There are just too many of you left, and - _auck_ \- as Hokage-sama said, there - _auck,_ will be several important guests and we can't afford for them to keep them there all day," turning his body so he could point up to the wall behind the giant Ram Seal, a rumbling in the ground shook the room as an electronic panel came into view. Blank until the ground was stable once more, Hayate turned back to the small crowd.

"From here on out, none of your decisions will effect your teammates. If you choose to, you - _auck, ugh_ \- can raise your hand to drop out right now. You will be escorted out, of the Forest and can return to your life - _urg_ \- otherwise." Nobody moved, everyone holding their breath as they waited for someone - anyone to leave. " _Auck_ \- what is your name?"

From just the corner of her eye, Naruto saw who she thought to be an obvious spy, raise his hand.

"Kabuto Yakushi." Hand raised as the other sat on his shoulder, he smiled abashedly and almost ashamed of himself. "Admittedly, I'm out of chakra. I don't think I'd be able to win, so I'd rather not just waste everyone's time."

' _Liar, I can feel all your chakra.'_ Not saying it out loud, she sneered at him as he gave a wave to his teammates. "Anyone else?"

Not seeing any of the others raise their hands, Hayate shrugged and raised his arm to flick his wrist above his head.

The board began flickering through the remaining names, flashing over each and every single one until it slowed. "The two opponents are - _auck_ \- chosen completely at random, so if there's - _urk_ \- nothing left to be said, then let us begin."

 **Sasuke Uchiha vs Kiba Inuzaka**

"Awh yeah! You ready to finally beat the Uchiha's ass, Akamaru!?" Shouting excitedly as he strutted to the center of the floor with said pup jumping out of the front of his jacket, Sasuke only turned to Naruto and frowned, her snorting with a passing comment under her breath as they went their separate ways.

"Nobody will bet with me on this one, 'cause everyone knows you're gonna win."

Taking his place across from Kiba close to the proctor, said man pointed to the two walkways lining the walls. "Everyone else can wait up there, until - _auck_ \- their own names are called." Waiting for them to trudge up the stairwell, Sasuke felt anticipation grow at the shuffling silence and the Inuzaka's confident grin.

Behind the Uchiha's back, the Sound, Sand, and what was left of Kabuto's team gathered with their sensei's loosely spread across the average sized place as a tense air floated above them. Before him, the rest of the Konoha teams were completely scrambled together to lowly speak their comments on the fights - with Naruto and Kakashi the only two technically beside their team in their own silence.

Feeling the interested and menacing eyes of Gaara glare into his back, a small sigh escaped through his nose at the trouble being considered close to Naruto was beginning to give him.

Coughing especially hard once to gain their attention, Hayate glanced between the two. " _Auck_ \- are the two contestants ready?"

"Hell yeah!" Kiba shouted, falling into his stance as Sasuke only nodded, kunai in his hand once more.

"The battles _\- auck, ugh -_ are only over when I say so, when one forfeits, or _\- auck -_ if one of the contestants die," eyes sweeping side to side, an eyebrow quirked at the red gleam in the Uchiha's own pair. Taking a step back as Naruto leaned forward in her spot, Kakashi tugged her back as she nearly fell forward in surprise at the sickly man's sudden shout. "Begin!"

Immediately Sasuke blurred out of existence, Akamaru being kicked backward into the wall behind the creature as he aimed a chakra'd kick to Kiba's stomach, sending him in the opposite direction. Twitch of pain in his left arm at the curse mark flaring up, the Uchiha roughly picked up the white dog and held his kunai to its neck in a quick move of desperation. "Forfeit or lose your mutt!"

Several heads reeled back in shock, Naruto's jaw falling open as she felt her stomach drop with it. _'That's fucking insane,'_ she thought as she observed Kiba rise to his feet, a clear panic setting in his slitted eyes. _'This is the first thing he does, but he won't really do it, will he?'_

The dog hung loosely by the skin and fur on the back of his neck as he was held at arms length, unable to escape or bite without his partners assistance, the gleam of Sasuke's kunai reflecting the light above them. "I'm not kidding, Kiba. I have better things to do than to deal with your wannabe _top-dog_ attitude to settle your academy days jealousy."

Nearly growling as he faked confidence, the Inuzaka stood on his two feet properly and tilted his head with a forced smirk. "You've been too scared to even come near the rest of us, the kids you once treated like shit because you thought you were the best! I bet you've just become weak, and don't want anyone to find out." Shrugging cockily, he took a shaky step forward - Sasuke only lightly pushing the tip of his kunai into Akamaru's neck.

"I only win when you're defeated, not your dog. Do you really think you can fight without him, though?" A bead of blood dropped downward, following the curve of the blade as the smell quickly reached Kiba's nose.

Freezing in his spot, the Inuzaka began shaking with anger as his mind forcefully flashed back to times with his furry partner. Barring his sharpened canine teeth as he took a step back, he shakily sighed in defeat as Akamaru whimpered pitifully.

They hadn't interacted too much in the Academy, Naruto being the one who always challenged Sasuke day in and day out, each time ending with Naruto being put into what everyone thought her place was.

It was a shameful, embarrassing place to be in and each time Kiba sparred with the Uchiha in class, he was put into it instead.

He wanted to win to pass and become a chunin, being the first match as well, he didn't have the time before to think about wanting to win against the Uchiha as a true personal goal to later recall fondly until their rankings came to play from his mouth, but the want returned full force at the reminder. ' _What a piece of shit,'_ Kiba thought. _'Sakura was right about you, man. Poor Naruto, being close to you of all damn people.'_

"Proctor.. I give up."

Stares of disbelief, levels of betrayal, wariness and even interest gazed into Sasuke's form, who dropped the dog uncaring. "Winner of the first match: Sasuke Uchiha!"

A single medic made their way across the floor and after noticing the deep indent in the wall, had a hand cover the battered dog as he read off the condition of the small pet. "Two broken ribs, a single nick on the neck, otherwise he'll be fine."

Making his way to his teammates that stared at him in their own disguised manners of disappointment, Naruto quickly bumped chest with Sasuke. "Teme, what the hell!?" Leaning into his face for her breath to fan across his face, Sasuke only stared back into Naruto's face. "You went too far there! I don't like him either, but I wouldn't kill his dog to win a match!"

Voice echoing as Kiba followed the medic into the infirmary to attend to the injuries without causing delay in the matches, even Hayate remained still in his spot as he joined everyone in listening on the scold.

"He was an asshole, I get it. Hell, he still is! But he didn't do anything to deserve for his best friend to die just for a promotion!" Grabbing his shoulders for the Uchiha to attempt to push them off, she tightly gripped onto his shirt. "Whether you were just faking it to get the match over with, you still could've done it some other way, like beat him into passing out like you use to - "

"He needed to learn, Naru." Hissing as he gripped her wrists to fail in forcefully removing them, he leaned his head in further to stare behind the tint of her goggles. "It's time to grow up. Hanging onto what happened in the academy and applying it to now just to appeal to his ego when it doesn't mean a single thing, is _annoying_."

"You're the one who brought it up first! That makes you a hypocrite!" Twisting his shirt in her hands, a gloved one sat on top of her and Sasuke's shoulders and gently eased them apart from each other.

"Naruto, Sasuke, enough." Book back in his pouch as he leaned his head downward to disrupt the glaring contest, his voice was soft and gentle - attempting to not be heard by those who knew his current probation from personal time with his students. "Naruto is right, as you shouldn't have threatened your comrade in that way. Ano, you could've at least waited until a less public place to set him straight." Patting both their shoulders as he slowly drew back, against the wall once more to continue discreetly observing, the Uchiha heir stared down at his feet as Naruto stared up to their sensei silently, him finally meeting her gaze head on.

There was a gentle noise that came with the panel choosing the names. It barely made her flinch, Sasuke only glancing upward to see the names roll up in time.

 **Shikamaru Nara vs Dosu**

Feeling his leg nudged gently by Sakura, said lazy boy finally took a moment to observe the panel in his sleepy haze.

"What a drag," Shikamaru complained under his breath, taking his time to stand up from his place on the floor as the tense air from two comrades attempted to clear. Thinking out loud as Asuma and Ino gave him dirty looks, he ignored them. "If I win, there'll be more work for the Third Stage, but if I lose.." Pushed toward the stairs by Ino, he grunted before slowly making his way down to the makeshift arena. Not bothering to look at the board, only in the general direction of his competition, he groaned loudly at who it was. "You, again."

Lips twitching as a dangerous look passed in his eye, Dosu immediately jumped over the railing and landed on a knee. Waiting almost impatiently as Shikamaru took his place with his shoulders slouching, the lazy male sent a smile stuck in between irritation and amusement. Hand fisted around an object already from his pocket, Dosu's lone eye attempted and failed in trying to place the object as Hayate felt the familiar air of a Nara's dislike.

Not saying a thing, only swallowing the wad of never-ending mucus in the back of his throat, he rose his arm once more - it falling with his word. "Begin!"

Finally breaking the stare, Naruto turned curiously to watch the match, a snicker escaping the back of her throat at what Shikamaru had - the lazy male popping them into his ears immediately.

Ear plugs.

Walking forward to lean onto the railing to peer directly down onto the backing up Nara, her head rested onto her hand as she fell into the old habit of ogling in blant admiration - the action caught by several others and the grinning Ino.

Back against the wall as his hands found his pockets, Shikamaru raised his eyebrows as he waited for the Sound Nin to make his first move.

Scowling at the ear plugs, Dosu rose from his one knee casually before holding a bandaged arm out. To those above, the waves emitted from his arm could almost be seen as Shikamaru only leaned to the left, the small chunk of a wall behind his head rising dangerously fast.

The swinging lights above casted an off shade of white, the shadow of the great statue growing and shrinking every other second, the railings throwing small shadows flickering back and forth over the tips of his own clothing, and watching Dosu watch him attempt the next move, the Nara gave his own smirk.

Barely muttering his family's signature jutsu - his shadow expanded quickly to tickle the length maximally reached right before Dosu's feet before he jumped backwards - Shikamaru leaping forward suddenly as bumps in the ground attempted to throw him off his balance. Obvious underestimation of the Nara's shadow length from their last match in the Forest, Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes at Dosu's visible and loud grunt of surprise when he quickly caught him.

Voice louder from not able to completely hear, the sound nin's arms imitated Shikamaru's as he crossed them. "You manipulated the sound waves before, in both the ground and the inner ear canal. Unless you had any other tricks up your sleeves, I would win, no matter what."

Twitches in attempts to break the act of mockery, the pineapple lookalike released a lazy grin as Dosu shouted in irritation at him. "You can't do a single thing unless it hurts you-"

"You're wrong." Easily reading the lips and not caring for the other's offended look, he cut him off loudly as he spun around - Shikamaru to stare up at his comrades and Dosu into a concrete wall - the two boys gave a bow as Dosu went instantly limp as his head violently slammed into the wall.

Cutting the flow of his chakra and righting himself, Shikamaru slouched his shoulders tiredly before giving one last glance to the Sound nin, a squad of three medics coming in with a stretcher to drag his body to the infirmary. Ear plugs pulled out, he caught the light applause and impressed filled murmurings of his devised plan while Hayate made the announcement. "Winner of the second match, Shikamaru Nara!"

Making his way up the stairs onto Konoha's dibbed walkway, Naruto grinned at him from behind her goggles. "Nice, Shikamaru!"

Nodding and muttering his thanks as he attempted to walk by the two, the quickly arriving Ino roughly pushed him backward to stand between Naruto and Sasuke, him searching for a new way to walk past the bossy blonde to his original spot against the floor. "And here I thought you didn't want to win, to get out of all the extra training?" Arms crossed with a knowing smile, she leaned forward on her tip toes to cover her mouth as she yelled in a whispering tone for Sasuke to face palm in irritation and Naruto's nose to scrunch in confusion. "Is it because.. you did it for a certain member on Team 7?"

A blank look was the only thing she was gifted and as the Uzumaki heiress was distracted with trying to silently ask the others in the rookie 9 with outrageous hand gestures on Shikamaru's sexuality and his prediction of the Sound nin, Ino's shifting and pointing eyes made the said boy fall to the floor and scoot himself around their legs in exasperation and outright desperation for distance from the matchmaking blonde.

"I don't think Sakura is all that interested in someone like him, but I wanna know how he even knew he was gonna fight a sound nin anyways!" Rubbing her chin as the electronic board began shifting through their names again, the blonde could only cross her arms and scowl at her crawling teammate and at what she thought once was her fellow blonde.

Ignoring her whispers of where the Nara went, Ino blew up. "No! God, even forehead girl has a better taste in men than that! I was talking about another.. member." Leaning in to invade her personal space, Naruto was backed against the railing as Ino smiled like a predator.

Avoiding the nervous connecting dots in her own mind, the fire-like girl turned to catch the names of the chosen two for the third match.

 **Temari vs Kin Tsuchi**

"I didn't know Shikamaru was interested in males," Sasuke casually interrupted. Arms crossed as he cooly leaned against the wall beside Kakashi whose face deeply buried behind his book once again, Ino finally turned to him and sent a mixed look toward him, glancing back at Naruto in almost concern.

"No, I'm sure he's into _girls_." Finality on the boys sexuality as Naruto covered her face and groaned, fingers curling onto her hat at the realization of what the fellow genin was doing, her mouth opened to begin yelling, only to be interrupted once again before given the chance.

"We may not personally know either of the two, but it is rude to talk over the twos matches." Eye-smiling over his perverted novel, the three were left silent with Ino nodding as Hinata, Choji, Shikamaru and Asuma watched the interaction. Walking back to the mismatched group of rookies embarrassed to be quietly scolded awkwardly by her sensei for being mysterious on what gender someone may identify as, Naruto fell to her bottom and finally gave into staring upset at her reading sensei. The underbelly of betrayal ate at her stomach from the older men in her life, so far.

Behind her, the two females of Sound and Sand stared at each other intently. Two different smirks that reflected the confidences in their abilities, chances to win and continue forth, Temari's hair bouncing with the small wind current caused by hidden vents, her large and opened fan held in both hands.

"Begin!" Leaping backward as Kin threw several senbon and Temari's large fan swung, chakra sent through her feet was the only thing that kept the black haired girl in place as her own senbon nicked at the edge of her clothing.

"She's already lost," Neji spoke up quietly with his doujutsu activated, his voice ringing in the Rookie's quietly dibbed area in awe at rarely seen before at the silent wind technique.

Humming in disappointment, Tenten nodded in agreement as several of the other genin looked over confused. "Who did?" Sakura spoke up, avoiding to look the Hyuuga in the eye.

Surprised to even be spoken to by the greener genin, Neji pursed his lips into a long frown before deactivating the Bakuygan. "The Sound nin, Kin Tsuchi. Unless she has fire or earth jutsu besides her subtle genjutsu, then her attacks will be fruitless or harm herself."

"That is very unyouthful of you, Neji-kun." His own voice low as he was focused on the two females, Lee bowed his head as Neji sent a heated glare into his side. Not saying a thing more to the Hyuuga, Lee turned to weed his way to sit beside Naruto. "If I may ask, Naruto-kun!" Eyes large as he invaded her personal space, leaning onto her as she leaned the other way, a bead of sweat dropped down her cheek at his folded hands.

"Yeah, whatcha need bushy-brows?"

"Why did you use such unyouthful language toward Proctor-san?"

Giggling almost manically at the nice distraction, she finally leaned back against him as Kin let out a large cry of pain, wind ripping against her hat harshly. Catching Kin attempt to dodge the wind by jumping into the air to run to the statue, she was only pinned against the wall - her head releasing a splattering blood stain. Face scrunching up in disgust as she slid down the wall, Naruto shivered before focusing once more on the question.

"It wasn't in a bad way, ya know? Just couldn't believe he got roped into being a proctor at all." Waving it off as she caught the attention of the others, Kakashi peering over his book as Gai stared on with a soft smile, a twitch returned to Asuma's left eyebrow at where their conversation was heading.

"Is it because he is unwell?" Lee asked, voice full of concern as he began to quickly mutter about sending get well flowers, counting the cost on his fingers and challenges to do if he could not send flowers - before she snorted.

"Nah, he's actually another pretty big deal like your sensei. Sword master and all that, on par with the Seven Swordsman!" Winking at the eyes somehow widening even further, Ino interrupted with a hand on her hip.

"I've never even heard of him! How would you know?"

Ears turning red as she scratched at the back of her head, chuckling awkwardly as she began to scoot on her bottom backwards to the stairs, Shino shifted in his place, drawing the attention with a loud swallow. "Naruto-san has always been quite adventurous as a child. Before deciding to become Hokage, he would aspire to become a master at different skills. He would end up _observing_ several of the chunin and jonin, becoming quite stealthy despite his orange jumpsuit before."

Eyebrows raised as all heads turned to her, she shrugged. "Asuma probably remembers me, don't ya?"

" _Asuma-sensei?_ " Ino muttered in disbelief, soft blue eyes bouncing between him and Naruto. "He was worthy enough to be stalked by you!? Wait - how does _Shino_ even know about that?" Spinning on her heel to point at Shino, he walked by her briskly, forcibly high fived by Naruto as he made his way into the arena. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

"It is his turn to compete, Ino-san! Against the lovely Sakura-chan!" Lee cooed, hopping from his spot to lean over the the railing wildly to ogle Sakura.

Shyly leaning from side to side, having jumped down in the excited talk as if she was invisible, the distracted shinobi checked the panel, some of them having completely missed the announcement of who truly won, despite the obvious missing Sound Genin.

 **Shino vs Sakura**

"Go Forehead-girl, kick his butt! Maybe we'll compete in the next stage if you win!" Ino called down in encouragement at her unsure expression, smiling as her rival stood just a little taller.

"I still can't believe you use to stalk shinobi, Naruto," Shikamaru complained, attempting to scratch for information. "So difficult, so troublesome.."

Shrugging, the girl turned away from her teammates match, outright planning to ignore it as Lee proclaimed his love as his own encouragement. "Ehh, I took it as a challenge, ya know? We weren't learning about finding our own styles in our first few years and I didn't know what mine was gonna be, so I tried finding it by following some of the coolest shinobi I could find. Found out a lot 'bout what I shouldn't know, what I should, that kinda stuff."

Behind her, Hayate shouted begin and Naruto could feel the nervous chakra of Sakura.

She knew how the match was going to go down, no offense to her ignorant and civilian raised teammate, but Shino knew about her stalking habits because they were once close. _'His insects suck up chakra so unless she plans on setting them with fire something, she's already lost. Not to be all negative, but whatever.'_

"Who all have you stalked, dead-last?" Mouth opened to form a small and disgusted O, Neji stared at her from the corner of his eye. Rolling her eyes at his insult, she shrugged.

"Long list, if ya really wanna hear it."

"Is this seriously why you skipped so much class?" Tenten asked, brow gathered as she huffed.

"Wait, how do _you_ guys know Naruto?" Ino asked, head turning back and forth between Team 9 to her sensei and said girl as she tried to keep up with Sakura's match all at once. _'Forgot she was a gossip queen - actually, this could help later on.'_ Naruto thought with a sideways glance. ' _Even though this part doesn't matter in the end, other than to let her get to know me.'_

"I took three different graduation exams, but to do that, there's sort of a catch to it. Two months in that class to actually find a rank other than dead last, catch up if you're trying to graduate early, actually get to know your future teammates to pass kinda thing. Even though I was apart of your class officially and failed, I got transferred to two others for my first two exams," grinning at the fond memories of a new sensei to prank at the times, she added more as an after thought. "Probably didn't notice me missing 'cause I skipped so much class anyways."

"Back to Neji's question, who did you stalk exactly?" Tenten asked, feeling unimpressed with the match that so far only contained dodging and running.

Fingers out as her eyes rolled up the ceiling, Naruto began counting on each finger. "Well, first it was Asuma. Practiced my stealth on him for a long while, until I got good enough that he didn't realize I was around anymore -"

 _"Goddamnit,"_ Asuma muttered with disdain around his cigarette, the speed of taking a drag and releasing speeding up immensely.

"Then it was Ibiki Morino, Might Gai, Hayate Gekko, couple different of ANBU's." Shrugging as she leaned back onto her palms, she glanced down in time to miss the interested look of Kakashi, his mind racing to several oddities happening in the headquarters when he was operating.

"What interested you so much about them, Naruto-san?" Kurenai spoke up, ruby eyes focused on her student though her ears paid attention to the conversation going around her. "I realize we haven't met before and I don't mean to eavesdrop, but I am Kurenai Yuuhi, sensei of Team 8."

"Nice to meet you, Kurenai-sensei! But ya know, they had their quirks," shrugging as she leaned further back onto her hands, she felt quite self conscious at everyone staring at her with deep interest, recognizing the emotional chakra in them all. "Asuma was ojisan's kid who talked about his plans a lot, Ibiki Morino was already head of T&I, Might Gai is a friggin taijutsu master and Hayate is a kenjutsu master." Turning her head to catch Sakura's chakra sputtering as it fell harshly with her body, she sighed before continuing lowly, Hayate checking her pulse. "They had different views, different opinions, different lifestyles. People said things about them all the time, and ya know."

 _'I wasn't being taught in school, even on the days I tried so hard. I needed to learn, even if it meant to teach myself through others,_ ' she translated quietly to herself.

"Winner of the fourth match: Shino Aburame!"

Sakura's body was picked up by two medics holding a stretcher as Shino quietly returned to their side of the walkway, nodding respectively to all the members of Team 7 as he made his way to his original spot. Twisting her body around to hang her legs between the bars, her forehead leaned onto the railing as she felt several eyes stare into her back and at the panel, the topic changing quickly.

"Poor Sakura-chan," Lee sighed mournfully as the board landed once more onto another pair of names.

 **Ino Yamanaka vs Hinata Hyuuga**

"This may be interesting," Shikamaru murmured, yawning into his hand as Choji nodded in agreement. The two girls gave each other passing looks, not saying a word from their missing personal history.

Leaning back in her spot, Naruto gave an encouraging wave as Hinata passed on her way down, her brows quickly furrowing as the Hyuuga flushed red and ran the rest of the way, Ino simply jumping from the railing and taking point with her back towards the other genin teams. Encouraging words were sent to Hinata on her way, but the Konoha majority otherwise kept quiet on who to root for.

Ino fell into the academy's fighting style, leg muscles tensed and ready to move as Hinata formed the Ram handseal and whispered her doujutsu, before hesitantly falling into the Gentle Fist. Hayate, the bag under his eyes emphasized further as he took his time in observing the two very different girls, rose his hand at their readying stances. "Begin!"

Ino instantly sprinted left as Hinata's expanded view followed her, her breath becoming unsteady with her nerves. Watching the blonde pull out a set of shuriken and throw them loosely before her fingers began to race - the flying stars ranging from aiming at her body and way off to her complete right - Hinata ducked below them and charged forward as Ino gasped and jumped upward into the air before attempting to land a kick down onto the back of the other heiress' head.

Jerking her body left in time for Ino's shoe to slide down her jackets sleeve, a tap on a pale ankle sending the blonde flipping backwards to run and create distance.

Eyes peeled open in interest at the two polar opposites, one loud and brave, the other quiet and shy, Naruto couldn't help but grin at the match.

"You figured it out, huh? That I was trying to get you to move into a predictable spot so I could use my jutsu?"

"Y-Yes, I d-did." Swallowing and taking deep breaths as her opponent raised once more, Hinata's back straightened hesitantly as she waited.

Readying herself once more, Ino stood tall with a dramatic flick of her hips as she leaned onto her right leg. "Ino and Hinata-chan never really talked before, right?" Naruto listened for her former classmates confirm it quietly, themselves staring intently at the two.

"I can see this going one of two ways, Hinata! You sealing all my chakra points or me getting into your body and forfeiting defeat for you," Rolling her shoulders as she hunched forward, she sprinted to her right and made it half way around the Hyuuga before two kunai from her pouch were pulled out as she turned to head straight for the shy girl. "So what is it going to be!?"

Blinking quickly to catch the surprisingly fast fists of Ino, Hinata spun back and forth wildly in her place as she attempted to dodge the obvious stabbing attempts, her lethal finger taps barely reaching home at the blonde's fast swings and twitching-like body movements. Watching the shy girl finally spin her body into a position to use a powerful kick to push the blonde away, Hinata paused as she watched Ino lay there for a moment, coughing as she regained her breath.

To Naruto, the air felt different between them. Their chakra's were hostile only toward each other and Ino's mouth frequently twitched with words wanting to spill themselves forward, none of it truly being said for their almost polite conversation instead. "Do they not like each other or something?" She asked out loud, turning her head to catch surprised looks from Shikamaru and Chouji.

Swallowing everything in his mouth, Chouji asked before Shikamaru could. "What?"

Blinking at them and seeing nothing from Shino that gave it away, she shook her head before turning back to the match. "It just seems all, _fake_ here. Like they have something they want to say, but aren't because of what happened earlier between dog-breath and bastard."

Chouji returned to his munching on his bag of chips as Shikamaru answered for them both. "You're not completely wrong."

Waiting for him to continue, he didn't even bother giving her another glance as she returned her attention back to the match, where Ino was rising from the ground finally and staring at Hinata intently. Watching the blonde adjust her headband as Naruto felt her chakra focus into a single point, Hinata shook for a moment before taking and releasing a low breath.

 _'They're ending it now.'_ Naruto realized, before frowning in her unanswered curiosity. _'What's wrong with all of us for to take it out on each other now?'_ Referring to the breaking moments of her team and the silent anger somehow held of all the Konoha genin here, she held her breath as the two heiress shot at each other.

Watching the Yamanaka heiress run her fingers through her family's signature jutsu, shouting the name just as Hinata picked up her speed, the shout and usual action of falling limp onto a comrade only spelled both of their ends as several shinobi winced. Sending Ino's body flying back at the impact, Hinata fell onto her knees before her head made a thick clunk on the pavement. Poofs of smoke in the stands only allowed to the two sensei's of the girls to appear near them, both of them worriedly checking for their pulses and any sign of consciousness as Hayate held his hand in the air.

"What's happening?" Naruto whispered, Shino answering for her just as quietly, their voices still heard by everyone nearby in the silence.

"Hinata-san struck quite randomly in Yamanaka-san's chest as she finished her mind transferring jutsu. If she had struck an important organ, Yamanaka-san will die and Hinata-san will have won the match." Frowning at the idea of killing for a promotion once again, Naruto's shoulders fell in relief at the thumbs up Kurenai and Asuma sent to the proctor.

"Fifth Match: Double knockout, - _auck._ " hand falling at the finalzation of said match, he coughed into his other hand while his tired eyes wandered. "Before we continue with the sixth, we will have a - _auck, ugh_ \- 15 minute break. Use the restroom, visit the canteen for a - _ahem_ \- snack, whatever. Just be back before we - _auck_ \- begin again."

* * *

Being the only male left in the bathroom, Shikamaru took his leisure time washing his hands until the door leading in was opened.

"Shikamaru, I've been looking for you man!" Turning his head with a heavy sigh, he shook his hands over the sink before wiping his hands on his pants.

"What is it, Naruto?"

Fiddling her fingers inside her pockets, Naruto shrugged as she leaned onto the wall. "You said I wasn't completely wrong about Ino and Hinata. What'd you mean?"

Sighing heavily again, the Nara boy walked over to the opposite wall of the hidden carrot top and slid down. "You know, you're really oblivious."

Squinting at his words, she stared at him silently until he finally sighed and answered tiredly. "You know how back in the academy, Hinata was sometimes missing from class?"

"Uh, sort of. I mostly saw her around town whenever I was skipping anyways though.."

"Yeah well, she had permission to from her father, the Hyuuga Clan Head, and all of the teachers for it. Heard they were for private lessons to help with her confidence mostly, but even when she was there, she still received some special treatment from the staff. Ino just didn't really like it."

Rubbing her hand across her face, Naruto tried to remember if she had caught any of the apparent special treatment. "I always thought that was just because she was really shy and gentle?" She muttered, only to catch Shikamaru shaking his head.

"If it was, it's not the way that Ino took it. She typically believes in that, girl power, if you catch my drift." Wincing at the confused expression, he sighed again. "You're hopeless, Naruto. Girl power is when girls encourage each other to do stuff, sometimes just because they're another girl. She believes in empowering more females, especially when it comes down to being a shinobi since there are more guys in this profession naturally. I guess to her it just looked like a lot of things were being handed to Hinata because of her last name."

"Pfft! You're joking, right?" Rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue from his irritated look, she threw her hands up. "If she doesn't like Hinata for that, then she shouldn't be fangirling over Sasuke-teme!"

Only nodding in silent agreement did Shikamaru wonder why Naruto was in the boys bathroom if she was apparently a girl.

Unable to see where her eyes were, her stiffening posture gave it away that it finally crossed her mind as well.

"Eh, Shikamaru?"

"..Yeah?"

Fumbling with the collar of her jacket, he barely caught the drop of sweat sliding down her face. "So.. you know I'm a girl?"

Watching her reaction, he chose his words carefully. "If you are one, then alright, you're a troublesome girl." The tensing in her shoulders only eased halfway back down, so he distracted himself in the awkward silence by standing up to begin heading back to the makeshift arena. "Why'd you come to ask me about all this anyways?"

Naruto's easy-going grin crinkled her whiskered cheeks as she snorted. "You're Shikamaru, man! You know everything 'cause you're so observant." Following his step out of the bathroom and into the now mostly deserted hallway, the clock on the opposite wall showed they had three minutes left of their break.

"Ugh. It's almost as if we're back in school. Doesn't mean I always have the answers," he mused out loud in the beginning stages of irritation.

"No, you don't." Naruto stepped around him as he paused in his spot, surprised at the already missing amusement from before as she sighed almost mournfully. "But sometimes, you help me figure them out without even trying."

Not knowing what else to say as he watched her walk away, Shikamaru took another glance at the clock before following her slowly. In his mind, he felt as though he was staring at a mislabeled puzzle. Meant to be made up of only 10 pieces for an easily done picture, it appeared as if the two missing zeros meant to be behind it have faded from the boxes cover. He wasn't sure if he was up for the task of figuring it out, considering who it would evolve around - _'A loud, troublemaking girl of all things.'_ \- but he was growing concerned of what would happen if he didn't.

Naruto was however, once again feeling down as she drowned in her worries and thoughts. She may have felt like she made an epiphany yesterday, but she still had a request to follow through with to make yesterdays less daunting. _'This exam is bringing out the worse in everyone.'_ Frowning as she made her way down to the stairs leading to the makeshift arena, making it in time for Gekko to unlock the doors, Ino's dancing eyes between her and Shikamaru forced worry to begin eating at her stomach. _'Then again, I guess it already brought out the bad in me.'_

* * *

 _I was really hesitant on posting this chapter. I don't really like it to be honest, but I don't know how else to write out the first half and you guys deserve the next chapter at some point._

 _Posted: 9/15/17_


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